Ryan Cox was a nonunion pipefitter living in South Carolina before he secured a job in Greenville, Ohio.
He was eager to begin his job in Ohio and expected employment for six-plus months. While employed, Cox and other pipefitters were mislabeled as 1099 independent contractors, yet the job was run as if they were W-2 employees.
After being employed for roughly two weeks, the contractor was no longer satisfied with the subcontractor’s work that Cox was working for. Cox and the entire workforce were told by the owner of the subcontracting company to load their tools back into the trailers and held a meeting.
“Once he received the money, the owner explained at the meeting, we would all be paid the hours we were owed,” Cox said. “We asked to sign our timesheets for the week, but he refused and sent us on our way. The next week, payday arrives and none of us received the money we had earned the week before.”
Cox added that many people tried to contact the owner, and then the excuses began. The subcontractor owner once again reiterated that once the contractor that he worked for paid him, they would get paid, and then all contact ended.
Now, no one could get in touch with the owner, so during this time, Cox reached out to the Ohio State Association (OSA) to inquire about how to get into a union so this scenario would never happen again.
“I met with Tyler Simms, who is an Organizer from the OSA, and he explained the ins and outs of how a union works and he told me what I had to do to qualify for membership and the steps I needed to take to become a member,” Cox said. “During this conversation, I explained what had happened to me and 30 other employees and he told me that what happened to me didn’t sit well with him and he was going to see if he could help.”
Simms reached out to OSA Lead Organizer Kelly Lipinski and together, they devised a plan with the aid of the UA’s legal counsel.
Initially, they went to the Department of Labor (DOL), but the DOL representatives said they would only settle for pennies on the dollar.
“At best, those guys would get back the federal minimum wage,” Lipinski said. “So, we looked at other avenues to get the workers the full amount owed.”
Cox filed a mechanic’s lien and said they began the long process of negotiating with attorneys to get their money back. They finally settled and received the money they were owed.
Cox wins the settlement
“I can’t thank Tyler enough for all his hard work for my co-workers and me,” Cox said. “At that moment, it wasn’t even about union versus non-union, it was about doing what was right, which speaks volumes about Tyler.”
Cox also thanked Simms for getting him into the union and said it was the best decision he’s ever made and he is happy to be a part of the Brother and Sisterhood.
“It’s great knowing someone is looking out for the little guy,” he said.
Simms said that Cox is making an incredible contribution to his Local Union.
Even though the other workers were dispatched across the country, the OSA Organizers have since helped bring them into the UA throughout the country.
Additionally, once the job owner was notified of the mechanic’s lien, they realized that several of their non-union contractors were misclassifying workers. The job is now 100 percent union.
