Some stay, some don't. Right now my longest guy has been with me for 10 years, off and on. The current stretch is about 2 years. One guy has been with me for 7 years, and another has been with me for about a year. The rest are more short term. 6 to 8 months.
The secret is not the pay. The secret is that they know what I expect, and don't beat on them constantly for better performance. It also helps that they hate having the old man out there and out working them. I am easily old enough to be the father of all of them except one, and will still work them into the ground. So they do know what the expectation is.
As for pay, they start at $9.50 an hour, and go up as they get useful. I tell them that if they are only worth minimum wage, I can't afford them.
Scott Stone