Northern Nevada construction workers rallied at the University of Nevada on May 13 to protest the use of contractors who use out-of-state workers on local projects.
“The volume of Nevada construction work going to out-of-staters has reached epidemic proportions,” says Paul McKenzie, executive secretary-treasurer of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada/AFL-CIO and one of the speakers at the rally.
“These projects may help with the economic recovery of many other states but we think Nevada jobs should go to Nevada workers,” he said.
About 200 workers gathered in front of the Lawlor Events Center after marching from the intersection of Virginia and Sixth street. Speakers said workers from Arizona, California and Utah have been hired for campus projects. They also cited other public and private construction projects in Northern Nevada that they say involve out-of-state contractors, subcontractors and workers.
IBEW Local 1245 is adding its voice to the growing protest by running ads in Nevada newspapers that protest a decision by NV Energy to rely on out-of-state contract workers for a major rebuild of Valmy Generating Station.
Protesters at the Lawlor Events Center carried signs saying “Why are Nevada’s tax dollars going to Arizona’s economy?” and “Local jobs for local workers — There is no recovery until we work.”
The Building & Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada/AFL-CIO says that Nevada’s record 13.4 percent jobless rate is second-highest in the nation, behind Michigan’s 14.1 percent and well above the 9.9 percent national rate. The state has lost 26,000 construction jobs over the past year.