LOWVILLE — Several former Climax Manufacturing Co. employees received payment earlier this year for lost vacation time due to a settlement between the company and the state Department of Labor.
James “Jim” H. Ridgeway, international union representative for United Steelworkers, said the company paid about $500,000 in either January or February for 113 union employees’ unpaid and accrued vacation lost when the plant closed in April last year. Both parties reached a settlement after the department investigated the company and department officials James Rogers and Rebecca Nathanson executed negotiations, Mr. Ridgeway said.
“They were relentless,” Mr. Ridgeway said. “They renewed my faith in government agencies.”
According to a letter from the state Department of Labor Investigator H. Lin from June obtained through a Freedom of Information Law Request, Climax Manufacturing Co. originally owed $848,713.52 to 124 employees, which included $424,356.76 for unpaid vacation time and another $424,356.76 for liquidated damages to unpaid wage supplements.
When asked whether the company paid on time, Mr. Ridgeway said “When they made the agreement, their check didn’t bounce.”