Kelly Lipinski — House Bill 246, Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee

Summary

Testimony in favor of House Bill 246 by Kelly Lipinski, a Special Representative with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, addressed to Chairman Johnson, Vice-Chair Lear, Ranking Member McNally and members of the Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee. The testimony is given on behalf of 14,000 members in Ohio. It states that HB 246 discourages unscrupulous Contractors, Labor Brokers and/or Human Traffickers from undercutting the wages and benefits of honest, tax paying workers. It describes organizer visits to jobsites in April 2022 and June 2023, and states that of the 573 Plumbers and Pipefitters who gave contact information, 30% were undocumented. It states that many contractors in the state already use the e verify program successfully.

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Full text

Chairman Johnson, Vice-Chair Lear, Ranking Member McNally and
members of the Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee
My name is Kelly Lipinski, I am the former Lead Organizer for the Ohio State
Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters. I’m currently a Special
Representative with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters in
the Organizing and Recruitment Department. On behalf of our 14,000
members in Ohio and in support of every construction worker in Ohio I am
pleased to testify in favor of House Bill 246. HB 246 discourages
unscrupulous Contractors, Labor Brokers and/or Human Traffickers from
undercutting the wages and benefits of every honest, tax paying worker
providing for their family while supporting their community.
In Ohio we have 15 full time Organizers covering every inch of the State.
These 15 Organizers spend their entire work week visiting jobsites and
talking to workers. In April 2022 we brought in bilingual Organizers and for
two weeks 24 Organizers visited every jobsite possible and spoke to every
Plumber and Pipefitter we could find in Columbus. Of the 573 Plumbers and
Pipefitters that gave us their contact information 30% of these workers
were undocumented. Undocumented workers were mainly in the
Commercial sector of our Industry.
In June 2023 we brought in 160 Organizers for a week and visited every
jobsite and talked to every Plumber and Pipefitter we could find in Ohio. It
was alarming to find out that a little over a year later we found that
undocumented workers were in most major cities in Ohio. (Columbus,
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, Lima, Canton, Akron and Toledo) and present
in every sector (Residential, Commercial and Industrial) of our Industry.
As a Lead Organizer and Special Representative for the United Association I
have participated in new Organizer training twice a year at our
Headquarters in Annapolis MD. As part of our training, we visit jobsites in
Baltimore and Washington DC talking to workers. In five years, I am yet to
find an English-speaking worker. The undocumented worker issue in
Maryland is rampant and out of control. My counterpart in Maryland has a
team of Organizers who speak to undocumented workers every day, they
often hear from these workers that they are moving to Ohio because of the
amount of work in Ohio. We must address the undocumented worker issue
that is growing in Ohio by the minute. Many contractors in our state
already use the e verify program successfully. Thank you for your
consideration and support of this crucial HB 246.


Kelly Lipinski
UA Special Representative Organizing and Recruitment
Klipinski@uanet.org


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