Tuesday a labor group protested what it called the use of non-union workers in the expansion project at Marietta Memorial Hospital.

Labor supporters passed out leaflets stating non-union labor is being used in the construction of the $25 million expansion, which began last summer, but hospital officials say the non-union workers are with a sub-contractor for Duke Corporation, the company involved in the overall project, and says Memorial, the non-union workers, represent just a handful of the people involved in the construction..

Scott Cantley says, “They are from Marietta, but they hire mostly non-union labor. We encourage, as often as possible, the hiring of local, non-union labor.”

Union protests are common these days for projects where out of town or non-union labor is involved. Another recent example is the Home Depot in Vienna, which was constructed in just the past year.

Memorial said in a statement it involves local contractors and labor wherever possible, but the hospital adds there are times when it's necessary to go out of the area where a specific service or type of labor isn't possible. The hospital also says it invested $75 million last year in the local economy.

The expansion, which includes new emergency and operating rooms, is expected to be completed next year.