Temp Agency For NRC - Star Staffing - Opening in Elk Grove; Recruiting For Low Wage, Temp Jobs?

June 10, 2016 |

UPDATED June 22 - SEE BELOW

During Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis' 2016 State of the Union address delivered on March 28, the supposed good news came - the "Grove" had lured a Fremont, Calif.-based high-tech company to the city's fledgling high paying jobs/career-oriented mixed development Southeast Policy Area  (SEPA). 

That company, NRC Manufacturing is said to be bringing 500 manufacturing and management jobs as a high-tech subcontractor as it ramps up production next year. At full capacity, NRC will reportedly employ 2,600 employees at an unspecified 230,000 sq. ft. production facility located in the SEPA.

As its reported production ramps-up, according to the Petaluma Argus-Courier, NRC has retained the services of a temporary employment agency, Petaluma, Calif.-based Star Staffing. As part of the planned job growth, Star Staffing will be opening an Elk Grove office located at 9425 Laguna Springs Drive, Suite 200 this coming Tuesday, and as part of the launch, a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at noon, and a job fair will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

So just what type of Elk Grove jobs does Star Staffing have listed on their website? As of this posting, they have three jobs, not surprisingly all temporary, all paying $10 an hour for warehouse workers, seasonal cellar winery employees,  and a seasonal bottle line worker. 

Obviously, by the nature of their business, Star Staffing is a temporary employment agency specializing in seasonal employment for agricultural interests. In this case, Lodi wineries.

According to their site, Star Staffing has "specialized expertise in the wine industry." Given the nature of agriculture and wineries, hiring temporary seasonal workers makes sense.

So why did NRC retain the services of Star Staffing unless they intend to hire nothing but temporary workers at $10 hour - the current minimum wage - without the prospect of gaining permanent employment with benefits? These are not the type of jobs we were promised by Davis, Vice Mayor Steve Ly, Elk Grove City Manager Laura Gill and Economic Development Director Darrell Doan when they ballyhooed the 25,000 high paying jobs they would be recruiting to the SEPA (see video below).

Perhaps Davis, Doan, Gill and Ly, who can leverage his international notoriety, can lobby NRC Chief Executive Officer and President Ratha Chea and prevail on him to pay his workers the current living wage for our area. Alternatively, maybe something above minimum wage, along with some benefits, and offer something more than the fast food jobs already awash in Elk Grove.

If our dynamic duo of Mayor Davis and Vice Mayor Ly, along with Doan and Gill cannot prevail on Chea lest he threatens to offshore the supposed 2,600 jobs to a Myanmar sweat-shop, let's hope they do not offer any outrageous financial incentive. If the City offers any cash to NCR and they pay temp workers anything less than a living wage, it will be a betrayal of workers, families, and taxpayers.

We all will be watching Star Staffing, NRC and the entire City of Elk Grove government as the process progresses - the clock is still ticking and we will see if these jobs are nothing more than fast food jobs or real jobs that can help support a family a decent enough living to live where they work.  

This is what we were promised - now its time to deliver.  

UPDATE - A representative from Star Staffing contacted us to clarify that they do not have a relationship with NRC Manufacturing to provide temporary staffing at their forthcoming Elk Grove facility.