Oklahoma Jobs Going To Out Of State Workers

Jennifer Pierce, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Construction is at an all time high in Oklahoma, but in a lot of cases,  Oklahomans are not doing the work.

Out of state contractors are winning the bidding wars.

They are accused of bringing in their own workers and materials, then not paying employment taxes, unemployment taxes, and workers compensation.

In some cases,  these the companies are working on public projects like schools. The practice is putting a lot of hard working Oklahomans out of work.

"I'm waiting for a call now to see if I get a job in Houston, which I would much rather be working here," said Mark Jones, an unemployed bricklayer.

Mark Jones says in his 20 years as a bricklayer, he's only seen work going to out of state companies in the past two years.