After the high-stakes deals are done for the day, legions of Latin American immigrants search for their American dream in the darkened offices of the city's skyscrapers. Bolivian Juana Revollo works in a factory by day and in this building at night. Welcome to the underbelly of the new economy. As many as 40 percent, according to the organizers for Local 32 BJ of the Service Employees International Union, are undocumented, working under the table or with false papers. The jobs are mostly part-time.
Benefits are rare.
Maria Baregan arrived in the United States eight months ago. When she gets off at 5 pm she comes here. Eventually, Maria would like to study computers, but with two jobs, she doesn't even have time to learn English, she says in rapid-fire Spanish. By then, she's too tired to do anything. Others have similar stories of working at one low-paying job and then rushing here for a second shift.