St. Louis Home Depot Under Fire For Hiring Out-Of-State Painters

ST. LOUIS — The Southtown Home Depot on Kingshighway Boulevard in St. Louis is under fire from a local painters union for hiring out-of-state contractors.

Union representatives Otto Schoenberg and Wendell Harris, both of St. Louis, stood watch on Kingshighway with a sign and snare drum Wednesday afternoon to protest the outsourcing of jobs from the area.

"We want local revenue to stay in our area," Harris told Patch. "(Hiring out-of-state contractors) is not fair to the people who live and work here."

Schoenberg said it was the pair's second day on the picket line. According to him, Home Depot has hired Harrison Contracting Company from Villa Rica, Georgia, to complete store renovations.

Schoenberg and Wendell said they were members of Painters District Council 58.

The group's website encourages workers to organize for higher wages, benefits and "dignity, respect, and a voice in your working life."

"In earlier years, workers who tried to form unions were beaten by company thugs or shot at by government troops. Union organizers risked — and sometimes gave — their lives to win the fight for dignity and justice on the job," the website states. "It is because of these heroic men and women that American workers enjoy the standard of living we have today."

A Home Depot manager told Patch she could not comment on the situation, but added, "We don't hire anyone, corporate hires everyone."