REP. POSHARD TO ATTEND MEETING AT MOUND CITY

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard will host a public meeting at the Pulaski County Courthouse in Mound City July 8.

Poshard will discuss a number of topics concerning local and national events during the 8 p.m. meeting and will address questions from the public.

Poshard is also expected to comment on the billion-dollar Olmsted lock and dam project.

Balfour-Beatty Construction Inc., a British-owned company with American headquarters at Wilmington, Del., will "bring in" its own workers for a $53.6 million project to build a coffer dam on the Ohio River, instead of utilizing local labor.

Olmsted is located along the Mississippi River a few miles north of Mound City.

The construction company has received criticism from local legislator and labor leaders concerning the use of outside labor. Balfour-Beatty has an agreement with United Steelworkers District 50 in Eastern Kentucky 400 miles away to provide labor for the Olmsted project.

Poshard has said it would be a "tragedy and injustice to bring this size project to the poorest region in Southern Illinois, then deny Southern Illinois workers those jobs."

In an area that has seen 20 percent unemployment for a number of years, the 11-year dam project could bring up to 500 full-time jobs during peak construction.

The Balfour-Beatty Company is not required by law to use local labor, however. The contract is a federal contract and competitive bidding prohibits requiring that local laborers be used for the dam project.

The Olmsted Dam project, which includes the construction of a dam to replace two existing dams near Olmsted, was authorized through the efforts of Illinois delegations, noted Poshard. The project will replace Dams 52 and 53 on the Ohio River.