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Union representative tells Morrow County commissioners solar contractor plans to bypass local union labor
Summary
Jeff Sellers of Labor's Local 1216 urged Morrow County commissioners to press Sol Systems and an EPC contractor (named in the transcript as Hanba Qcell) to hire local union labor on a nearby solar project, saying he was told there was 'no intention of utilizing local union labor.' He asked the board to encourage developers to meet and discuss local hiring and apprenticeship requirements.
Jeff Sellers, business manager with Labor's Local 1216, told the Morrow County Board of Commissioners during public comment on July 2 that he had been "informed last week, that there's no intention of utilizing, local union labor for that project." Sellers said he had sent letters to Sol Systems and to the EPC contractor identified in the transcript as Hanba Qcell and asked the commissioners to press the developers to "get to the table" and discuss hiring local workers.
Sellers said the union has been involved with the project since permitting and asked for county support to ensure local workers and apprentices get opportunities on the job. "When we make dollars here in the community, we spend everything here locally," Sellers said, urging the commissioners to call or otherwise encourage the developer to consider local hiring.
Commissioners and meeting participants asked for clarification about which counties the union represents. Sellers said Local 1216 covers Richland, Ashland, Crawford, Knox and Morrow counties and that apprenticeship pathways are available locally. During the exchange a county participant referenced a prior pilot program approved on 08/16/2022 that the union said required an 80% Ohio-domicile workforce, and attendees asked whether the developer would meet prevailing-wage and apprenticeship standards.
Commissioners did not announce any formal directive or vote in response to Sellers' request. The union representatives asked the board to track the project and to "hold their feet to the fire at least for the Ohio domicile" requirement; county staff and commissioners acknowledged the concern but did not state an enforcement or reporting mechanism during the meeting.
The union representatives also described observing out-of-state vehicles in the project area, which Sellers used as an anecdote to illustrate contractors bringing nonlocal workers. Sellers and other union members closed by asking for follow-up from commissioners, such as phone calls or letters to the developer.
Next steps were not set on the record; the commissioners moved on to other agenda items after thanking the speakers. If commissioners or staff choose to act on the union's request, any subsequent motion, letter or directive would create a formal record of the county's position.
