A year after their union vote, Greco Steel workers continue contract struggle

Several dozen workers and supporters were met with locked doors at Greco Steel’s Springdale headquarters on Wednesday as some employees continued their yearlong struggle for a contract with the company.

The nine workers won a narrow vote — 9-7 — to join the Iron Workers International Union last October. Still without a contract months later, the steelworkers opted to go on strike in April.

Since then, the group has picketed at several worksites and outside of the company’s office on Keene Street, according to John Kopay, lead organizer of the Great Lakes District Council for Iron Workers International.

Despite the yearlong effort, Kopay said there has been “zero word” from Greco Steel.

“All we want to do is have them sit down,” he said.

Greco Steel Products — which both makes steel products and erects them at construction sites — has challenged the union vote. The striking workers are part of the company’s onsite erection crew.

The issue is still sitting before the National Labor Relations Board.

The company did not respond to a TribLive request for comment.

Some of the strikers, Kopay said, have found work through Pittsburgh-based Iron Workers Local No. 3, but they’re still seeking to return to their previous positions at Greco.

Though machinery and truck traffic was audible inside the company complex, workers found a locked door and a brief note reading, “Greco Steel’s office will be closed today!”

Veteran crane operator Ray Cup, 64, of Apollo said he thought he knew why.

“They knew we were coming,” Cup said.

A Greco employee for about a decade, Cup said he’s concerned about safety standards.

That’s in large part because of the death of his co-worker Joe Gazzo Jr., 44, of Penn Hills, who fell through a roof on a job site at Pine-Richland High School in 2023.

Cup took over Gazzo’s job as crane operator, but Gazzo’s father, Joe Gazzo Sr., 72, said his son’s death left a void in his family that can’t be filled.

Gazzo Sr. spoke outside Greco headquarters about the need for better safety standards on the job.

“I’m hoping (the rally) will put an end to things,” he told TribLive. “Do the right thing.”

The workers also received some political backup on Wednesday.

State Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, and state Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, both urged Greco to sit down with the workers.

“They stand ready to negotiate,” Miller said. “It’s been too long.”

Williams said Gazzo Jr.’s job site death showed there was some need for better safety standards and contract negotiations.

She said she’ll continue to push the company to the table.

But for now, Jerry Harris, 35, of Jeannette, said the strike will have to continue.

The last several months have been tough, Harris said, especially as a single parent with a 5-year-old son to support.

He said Wednesday’s event offered some hope that a contract will eventually come.

“I have dreams of better things, better living conditions for me and my son,” Harris said.