Questions were raised Friday that undocumented workers are helping to build Volkswagen’s plant expansion in Chattanooga, but the automaker discounted the reports.
“It’s in our contract that all contractors and subs must abide by local, state and federal law,” said VW spokesman Scott Wilson. Still, he said, if there’s evidence that illegal workers are on the construction job site, the company is “100 percent pursuing it.”
City officials said at a meeting of the Industrial Development Board that they plan to check out the assertions.
“This is the first I’ve heard of any issues around the workforce,” said City Attorney Wade Hinton. “Perhaps we can look into it and see if there are some issues and challenges and see if there is any validity to the claim and report back to the board.”
Jimmy Rodgers Jr., a board member, said he deals with a lot of people in the local construction industry and “there are a lot of rumblings” about workers who appear to be undocumented.