Local workers protest construction site
Posted: Mar 18, 2010 2:56 PM PDT Updated: Mar 18, 2010 4:36 PM PDT

By Jeff Cunningham

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo (KFVS) - Around seventy local workers gathered at a construction site Thursday to protest the use of illegal workers.

The men, some of who are unemployed, held a protest at the Thomas Construction site off Mount Auburn Road in Cape. They say the company is in the practice of hiring undocumented workers at its construction projects.

JJ Lane is a representative with the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562 Union. He says it's not about union versus non-union.

"This is about right and wrong, legal and illegal, American and un-American," Lane said.

Heartland News contacted Thomas Construction, located in Osage Beach, and we were told they didn't want to comment on this story.

We do know Thomas Construction is under investigation by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster after 14 illegal worker were arrested in Saint Francois County. The Sheriff's Department arrested the workers at a Thomas site in Farmington. The workers were later released.

There is no investigation concerning the construction site in Cape Girardeau. However, that didn't stop protestors from saying Thomas Construction is not offering local jobs to unemployed local workers.

It's a problem that has also gotten the attention of Congresswoman JoAnn Emerson. In a phone conversation from Washington, D.C., Emerson said the use of illegal workers in Missouri is a big problem and she is currently working on legislation to address the problem.

http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=12166511