Springfield Plant A Magnet for Illegals

SPRINGFIELD, TENN.-A hidden camera investigation conducted by NewsChannel 5 revealed Springfield's biggest employer may be the biggest offender when it comes to hiring undocumented immigrants.

Electrolux is one of the largest manufacturing plants in Middle Tennessee.
It employs thousands of workers.

But a NewsChannel 5 investigation uncovered some disturbing facts about many of those employees.

From city leaders to factory employees, several people said the same thing about Electrolux. They said illegal immigrants, not Americans, comprise a large portion of its workforce.

Three years ago, the company came to Robertson County and local residents were excited about the hundreds of new jobs it would bring.

"They tend to project a family-oriented business here," said an employee.
Its opening was seen as a surefire boost to the local economy.

"You know they care so it's a perfect place for a single mom to be," said an employee.
But how many of those jobs went to American workers?

"This is what Springfield, Robertson County is," said Amanda Clack, a former employee. "They are taking over."

Clack says few positions went to Americans.
She claims Electrolux is a big draw for immigrants.
"Ninety percent of that plant is Mexicans," she said. "Maybe 5 percent white, 5 percent black."

"There's only two people next to me who speak English, the rest of them are Hispanic around me," said an employee."They constantly want to say we're going to go to Mexico,' another employee said. "Why go to Mexico, when Mexico is here."

To get hired at Electrolux, applicants first go through a staffing agency called Randstad. Hiring occurs inside a trailer next to the plant. Four people equipped with hidden cameras went to the trailer to see what happens.

One person ventured into Randstad under the premise that she recently arrived in this country and needed a job.
While waiting to fill out paperwork, she met a man who was reapplying.
He allegedly reapplied using fake documentations.
The man told the decoy about someone he knew who provided fake documents.
Outside the trailer, he told her how much.
"Around $900 you will get a birth certificate, a social security number from Puerto Rico," he said. "It has a name and address and everything."
He showed her his own fake state identification
.
"It's easy to get the job, and you don't have to speak English," he said.
Around town, the decoys sent by NewsChannel 5 learned Electrolux is the best place to work for undocumented immigrants.
"It's around $800 to get a social security number," one man said.
They also learned about a Puerto Rican black market in which identities are bought and sold.No one seems to care if they're caught.

"They are reapplying because they are getting fired, and then they are reapplying with other documentations, and then getting hired again," said one decoy.
An applicant works for Randstad, but at Electrolux, for the first three while their papers are being verified.
"There's plenty of people there," one man said. "Some that will be fired today and they go and buy different papers, and then they go either to a different shift, or the same shift."
"Now, they need a lot of people, but there's no people to hire," he said. "And yes, they know those documents do not belong to us."

Randstad and Electrolux denied anything like this goes on.
But one man who urged the undercover decoy to apply with Randstad, saying Randstad knew his papers were fake, but rehired him anyway.
"Every one of us goes there and nothing happens," he said. "Don't be afraid. I worked there three years and nothing happened."

The situation at Electrolux has left many in Springfield with a familiar frustration.
"Since the Mexicans will work for lower amounts of money, they will hire them, and then leaving us out here, not being able to find a job," Clack said.

Randstad denies any wrongdoing.
A spokeswoman said they have an outside company that also checks to make sure the documents they receive are real. Springfield City Manager Paul Nutting said what the investigation revealed wasn't something new to him.
He said he's known about this issue for years and it's had a negative impact on Springfield.

In an interview Thursday, he discusses the Electrolux situation.
Electrolux also defended its hiring practices in a statement.

"We are confident that this process of independently verifying employee documentation minimizes the chances of undocumented workers slipping through," according to a written statement from a spokesman. "If any should, they eventually will be identified, and fired."