Business & Tech

Lakewood Company Drops Lawsuit, Moving 14 Jobs to Elyria

Under a new agreement, Ferry Cap & Set Screw will keep most of its jobs at its Lakewood facility.

The company that owns Ferry Cap & Set Screw is moving 14 “header” machines to its sister company, Nelson Stud, in Elyria.

An estimated 14 jobs are going along with them.

Most of Ferry Cap’s jobs are going to stay put at the company’s Lakewood facility in Birdtown, according to T. Dean Wright, the president of the union’s District Lodge 54.

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Also, as part of an agreement, the company agreed to drop its lawsuit against the union and the employees who refused to work overtime. 

“The company only notified the union of the closure of the header department,” said Wright.

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Ferry Cap will move the header machines, and those machine operators will receive severance and other benefits as well as guaranteed job offers at Nelson Stud, said Wright.

“The new agreement between the union and the company is designed to encourage Ferry Cap’s header operators to follow their machines from Lakewood to Elyria,” according to a statement from the union. 

“Many of the header operators were disappointed when the company announced its intentions to move their jobs to another location because they took a $5-an-hour pay cut in 2007 as a concession to keep their jobs in Lakewood.” 

Ferry Cap company filed a lawsuit against the employees in US District Court in Cleveland on Feb. 5. The named defendants were the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, the AFL-CIO, District Lodge 54 and several union members.

“The negotiations were very difficult because we were trying to balance so many interests — our members who for Ferry Cap in Lakewood, our members who work for Nelson Stud in Elyria and the two sister companies,” said Wright. 

Judge James Gwin issued a temporary restraining order last month keeping the employees from refusing to work overtime. But the lawsuit was tossed out.

The 100-year-old company, which manufactures specialized fasteners, once employed nearly 400 people. The company’s high-end fasteners can be found in Caterpillars as well as bridges and other applications.

At an estimated 120 employees, Ferry Cap is one of the largest employers in Lakewood.

Both Nelson Stud and Ferry Cap are owned by parent company, Doncasters. 

In the original complaint, Ferry Cap argued that the employees’ refusal to work overtime could place the company’s ability to fill customer orders in jeopardy.

The judge agreed.

Company officials did not return calls seeking comment on this story.

No timetable has been set for the transfer of the machines.

However, a long-time employee of the company recently told Lakewood Patch that the company could abandon Lakewood by July.

The company’s goal, he said, is to move one of the company’s six headers each month.

“They are not moving the equipment, they are taking our lives,” said the employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We’re talking about our lives — our families. Ferry Cap is what it is. Our customers are happy. We are the ones who make the parts. We make the best parts on the market, because that’s what we do.”


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