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Laborers assured they will do ‘majority’ of construction work at Lordstown warehouse
State senator: Company has kept promises
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
After reassurances from State Sen. Sean O’Brien and others Wednesday, labor leaders appeared more confident HomeGoods Inc. will use local workers when it begins to construct its TJX HomeGoods Distribution Center in the coming months in Lordstown.
The leaders have expressed concern to the county commissioners in recent weeks because of what they learned about two companies HomeGoods hired they believed “had no intention of hiring local” workers for the warehouse construction.
Carlton K. Ingram, vice president of the Western Reserve Building Trades, said Wednesday that “promises to use local people” HomeGoods made months ago differed from what two or more companies HomeGoods hired have said.
Those companies “do not include us,” Carlton said of local laborers.
The two companies are “from out of the state. They had no intentions of using local people,” Ingram said.
At the meeting, O’Brien said he has talked to HomeGoods officials every day the past two weeks, and “they have assured me time and time again that they want to use local, are going to use local.”
O’Brien said there was “an issue” with a company that was going to do the steel fabricating for the job, but HomeGoods “told me for sure they are not going to use them.”
O’Brien, of Bazetta, D-32nd, said HomeGoods has kept its promise to create a land conservancy to provide a buffer between the warehouse and neighbors. It also kept its promise to give $500,000 to Lordstown Schools.
“They have done everything they said they were going to do, so I say we continue to have discussions with them, continue working with them, and when they don’t do what they said, then we have to do what we have to do,” O’Brien said.
When asked about the controversy, Andrew Mastrangelo, manager of HomeGoods media relations, said, “From the beginning of this highly specialized project, we have been committed to the use of local contractors for the majority of the work, and that has not changed.
“We have signed a notice to proceed with a general contractor, Catamount Constructors, which has already received inquiries from potential contractors located in Northeast Ohio. As we enter the bidding process for the construction phase of our distribution center, we strongly encourage local contractors to submit bids for the considerable amount of on-site work that lies ahead.”
Commissioner Dan Polivka said he believes the president and other HomeGoods officials “have heard our concerns and are supportive of hiring local.”
Labor leaders said one reason they were concerned about HomeGoods was because the company had not communicated with them.
Rick Leonard, district director for U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s Warren office, said the first priority early on was in landing the project for Trumbull County, which faced many challenges.
He and O’Brien attended many meetings with company officials and had many phone calls with Mark Walker of HomeGoods about hiring local workers, but “that never seemed to trickle down when we [met with] the trades,” Leonard said, adding, “I don’t know where the breakdown was.”
Though some speculated it might be more clear whether local laborers were going to get work when bids are opened Tuesday, Ingram said it’s likely to take longer.
The commissioners plan to meet with the labor leaders again after bids are opened.