A 48-year-old building worker was assassinated on July 11 when a lift trolley fell on him in a parking garage under construction at the new Sherwin-Williams overall headquarters on the 1300’s block on Cleveland West Third Street.
Cleveland’s fire department responded to the incident shortly after midnight and found Joe Cunningham, a member of Local Labor 310, trapped under the elevator cart and death at the scene.
Cunningham suffered a serious trauma in his head, said Lieutenant Mike Norman, spokesman for the Cleveland Fire Department.
Five -level parking garage is an element of the $ 860 million dollars project of $ 860 million painting and coating manufacturer, which includes a 36 -storey office tower that is the company’s overall headquarters, along with a new 500,000 square meter research and development center in a 119 hectares in Breckksville, Ohio.
Local Union of Workers 310, of which Cunningham was a member, published a statement on Facebook in response to his death.
“There are no strong enough words for a loss like this,” the union said. “Joe was a dedicated worker … and [part] of the spine of this project, and of the working class that builds this city from the base. “
Sherwin-Williams published a statement that said that Cunningham was a worker who worked for a place service contractor and referred to other questions in the joint company of Welty | Gilbane, who was named construction manager in 2020.
“We share our deepest sympathy with the family, loved ones and co-workers. Safety is still our highest priority and we are supporting a complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident,” said Sherwin-Williams.
Welty | Gilbane issued a statement saying “our thoughts and condolences are with family and co -workers.”
The Health and Work Safety Administration (OSHA) is investigating the incident.
The La Seu project has experienced other mishap, including having to re -apply the fire protector that had not been properly applied to the structural steel of the building. As a result, a great inauguration was promoted by March 2025 to October 2025.
By 2021, the company was criticized by community activists due to lack of diversity in the project. From 2025, Sherwin-Williams says he has exceeded the 15% provider’s requirements for minority business companies (MBE), which resulted in $ 82 million in contracts to date; It has surpassed a 7% commitment to women’s business companies (FBE), with $ 78 million in contracts issued to date and has exceeded 8% requirement for small Cleveland companies, providing $ 56 million in contracts, for a total minimum expense of $ 216 million.
From the latest construction information, Julia Young, Vice President of Sherwin-Williams World Corporate Communications, says that a phase removal process for employees is expected to begin at the headquarters of the fourth quarter of 2025 and will continue until 2026.
