Luis Avila, Rene Carbajal, Pablo Nieto and Jorge Mesta work at Marking Systems Inc. in Garland.The past few years have been rocky for all of us. COVID hit us out of nowhere, and the uncertainty forced some people to make decisions that would ultimately determine whether they could stay afloat.
Our company has expanded quite a bit since those early days. We now print everything from warning and caution labels to complex membrane switches with silver conductive ink printed as circuitry on the back, and we operate a precision cutting division. We also have a T-shirt business. So, what do you do when demand for your core product has dropped, and demand for masks and face shields is impossible to keep up with?
Our production crew was exhausted both emotionally and physically, but something about being seeing each other every day made work feel like more of a home than our real homes, in a way. They say fear haunts you, and pain creates hate. In our case, our pain strengthened us, and our fear drove our faith in a higher power.
We began to experience a large amount turnover as a result of the added stress, losing longtime members of our staff who had played a huge role in our growth as a company. As if the personal loss weren’t enough, the departures left a labor hole that, combined with the need for considerably more man power and capacity, dealt another serious blow to our already battered crew.
Here’s why