The workers opposed a decision by the company overseeing the project — PC Treehouse, which is managed in part by Chicago-based Power Construction Company — to hire Bonus Electric Construction Company, a group based in Romeoville, Illinois. Bonus Electric, IBEW workers say, pays substandard wages compared to those established in the union’s jurisdiction, which includes Champaign-Urbana. Members of IBEW Local 601 at the scene declined to comment further on the demonstration, instead distributing flyers calling out PC Treehouse. “Electrical construction work is being and/or will be performed at the PC Treehouse, managed in part by Power Construction HUB Champaign project by Bonus Electric Construction Company, LLC, an employer which pays employees less than the area standard wage and benefit rates established for electrical workers by the IBEW in the area,” the flyers stated. A large inflatable rat also stood facing the construction site, long known as a symbol of labor disputes across the United States.