Laid-off Falcon workers seek attorneys for suit

By JUSTIN DENNIS

jdennis@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

More than 40 former Falcon Transport Co. workers met Wednesday with Cleveland attorneys who are considering whether to represent a class-action lawsuit against the trucking company, which closed suddenly Saturday and laid off nearly 600 workers without prior notice.

“I have a few choice words for the owners,” said Chris Bartels of Streetsboro, standing in the parking lot of the Home2 Suites by Hilton in the township. “It still burns.”

Bartels said the loss of his health insurance stings the most, as he pays for prescriptions worth about $4,000 per month.

Another worker, Ed McKean, said he’s hoping for back pay. Some Falcon workers claimed they weren’t paid for three weeks prior to the closure. An email sent to employees blamed that on malware that targeted the company’s accounts.

Jay Kelley, managing partner of Elk and Elk of Cleveland, said it’s still too early to say whether the firm will pursue a suit, as attorneys are still working to learn more about the workers’ claims and where they intersect with statute.

Kelley said the most obvious claim could be a violation of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, which requires companies with more than 100 employees to give prior notice before a mass layoff.

Falcon Transport Co.’s notice came by text Saturday night and left many of its truckers stranded throughout the country. Company fuel cards were disabled.

Falcon Transport Co. had not submitted a WARN notice to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services as of Wednesday evening.

Former Falcon worker Mary Chavez of Girard on Monday filed a class-action claim for the company’s failure to submit the layoff notice. The suit seeks 60 days of pay and any unexpired benefits entitled to the workers.

Chavez is being represented by a Columbus attorney, according to court records.

Comprehensive Logistics Inc., which contracted with Falcon Transport Co. to service one of its warehouses, announced Wednesday the company’s closure didn’t affect its distribution.

“Over this past weekend, CLI was able to retain the vast majority of Falcon’s former drivers and immediately get them placed into Comprehensive Logistics positions,” said CEO Brad Constantini. “There was absolutely no down-time or disruption of service to our customers.”

Falcon Transport Co. was formerly owned by Constantini’s brother, Mark. Mark Constantini was bought out of the company when it was purchased in 2017 by Los Angeles-based private equity firm CounterPoint Capital Partners, CLI spokesman Gary Bobalik said Wednesday.

CounterPoint’s website was wiped this week and its phone number now rings busy. U.S. Bankruptcy Court records do not list any filings on behalf of the firm.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, discussed Falcon’s closure on the U.S. House floor Wednesday and invoked President Donald Trump, whom he said passed a “flawed tax bill that disadvantaged American families,” according to a release from Ryan’s office.

“The workers of the United States of America are tired of being pawns in this big corporatists game. President Trump came to my community and said, ‘Don’t sell your house. ... We’re going to get these house costs back up, prices back up,’” Ryan said. “We got bailout money for every bank that wants one, every savings and loan. Every corporation gets a tax cut to the tune of $2.3 trillion, and no one gives a damn about the workers.”

As those workers filtered out of the township hotel following the meeting, Zeke Haddle was waiting with recruitment offers for R and J Trucking of Boardman, one of several firms looking to sign on now-unemployed Falcon drivers. He said the company is looking to fill between 12 and 24 positions.

In response to Falcon’s closure, Randy Englehart, a regional manager for the New York-based Gypsum Express Ltd., organized an impromptu job fair Wednesday at the Hampton Inn along North Canfield-Niles Road.

Englehart said the company employs just under 500 people and operates 13 terminals east of the Mississippi River, including three in Ohio. He said the company could put about a dozen drivers to work “immediately” and could take on another 50 drivers within the next couple weeks.

He said the freight industry’s need for drivers has been steady for as long as he can remember, as the industry doesn’t attract newcomers.

“If I knew [why] I would not be sitting here right now,” he said. “It’s still a lifestyle where people are not home every night or not home on a regular basis. A lot of folks just don’t want to do that.”

Gypsum’s job fair is set to return to the Hampton Inn from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.

Wednesday’s edition of The Vindicator advertised a dozen help-wanted ads for CDL drivers, some of which specifically called to laid-off Falcon drivers.