EEUU: Unions decry hiring of out-of-state contractors

Organized labor is hammering managers of the Lafarge North American Joppa Cement Plant for using nonlocal workers on an expansion project, while the company says nondiscriminatory hiring practices have brought in contractors based on their merits.

Lou DeRose, public relations manager for the Joppa plant, said numerous contractors have been used since the expansion was announced in 2007, most of the construction firms coming from within a 150-mile radius. He said contractors are hired from among bidders with work and safety records given full consideration.