Insights Summer 2023

MAJOR PROJECTS

ATLANTA

MAREK Atlanta has achieved the top spot by winning the First Place AGC Build Georgia Award for their exceptional work done at the Gas South District in Duluth, GA! The project entailed the renovation and expansion of a 118-acre convention center, which was awarded to us by our esteemed customer, Holder Construction, in November 2020. The architect for this project was Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates.

Our team of experts included Greg Stine as the Senior Project Manager, Joe Spencer as the Project Supervisor, Damian Ontiveros as the Field Supervisor, Humberto Gonzalez as the Finishing Supervisor, and Juan Gomez as the Ceiling Supervisor.

As Greg Stine commented, “Our field team did an amazing job on this incredibly complex project with many high-end finishes and specialty wood ceilings.”

AUSTIN

Work is currently underway at the Austin State Hospital facility, a new three-story building spanning 380,000 sf, designed to replace a century-old psychiatric inpatient

INSIGHTS

A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE MAREK FAMILY OF COMPANIES

treatment center. It boasts 240 private patient rooms and features state-of-theart Gordon security ceiling systems. The facility also includes elegant 9 Wood grille ceilings and top-of-the-line Armstrong acoustical ceiling tiles. This project is scheduled to wrap up late June of 2024.

Key employees for this project include Julio Hernandez as Supervisor, Jose Apolinar as Foreman, with Bonifacio Granados, Jose Bustos and Augustin Garcia assisting. GC is Turner Construction and Page Sutherland Page is Architect.

DALLAS

MBC Dallas takes great pride in the successful completion of a single-family residence in University Park, Texas. This project presented numerous unique challenges, including complex and intricate details that required extensive planning and a significant workforce to execute. Despite these obstacles, we were able to deliver exceptional results to the satisfaction of our client.

MAREK’s incredible team was led by Severaino Rocha, Project Supervisor, and John Paschall, Project Manager. McIlyar Construction Company was GC and Richard Drummond David was Architect.

HOUSTON

Baker Botts, one of the largest law firms in the Bayou City, has recently announced the renewal of its office lease, representing a significant milestone for the firm and its employees. This renewal secures the firm’s continued presence in the city for years, and is an essential step for their operations.

The office space is strategically located downtown and offers a host of amenities for its employees. With the renewal, DE Harvey Builders has been appointed to oversee the demolition and build back of their Executive Office floor, as well as partial demolition and build back throughout six floors of their office space. The MAREK team, led by Steven DeGroot Drywall Estimator/PM, Juan Briceno Drywall Foreman, has been engaged to complete the drywall, paint, and protection of the existing finishes throughout the seven-floor remodel.

This decision underscores Baker Botts’ unwavering commitment to providing a secure and comfortable working environment for its staff while delivering exceptional legal services to its clients.

ON SITE

ATLANTA

We are thrilled to announce that Northeast Georgia Medical Center, located in Gainesville, GA, is currently underway. This massive undertaking will feature several key components, including a new emergency room, an expanded surgery wing, an enlargement of the heart/vascular/neuro department, and a new parking deck. Our team anticipates working on this project well into 2025 and would like to express our gratitude to GC, Brasfield & Gorrie, and architect, Perkins & Will, for their valuable partnership.

Our dedicated team of experts includes Brian Skinner as the Project Manager, Marty Shonkwiler as the Project Executive, Tony Smith as the Project Superintendent, Jack Smith as the Field Supervisor, and Rick Jecker as the Layout Supervisor.

AUSTIN

The PharmaLogic project is an alreadyexisting, single-story building of approximately 15,000 sf that is currently undergoing a retrofit to accommodate new science equipment. The 4-month renovation includes installation of an Armstrong Clean Room Ceiling System, as well as gypsum ceilings. Due to the building’s compact size and the tight completion schedule, multiple trades are working simultaneously and must carefully coordinate their installation efforts, but MAREK Austin is up for the challenge!

Joe Juarez is Foreman, with Jose G. Lopez, Ivan Rodriguez, and Javier Martinez assisting. Linbeck is GC and onsite Architect is BSI.

DALLAS

We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Nino Calleros for demonstrating one of MAREKS’s core values - “Impressing the Customer”! We recently received some positive feedback from our valued customer, Zech Hamilton with Cadence Homes that we wanted to share.

“Nino called two weeks prior to being on vacation to let me know he would be gone and as soon as he knew who would be covering the area, I would be given contact information. A few days before Nino left, he gave me the contact information of his replacement and assured me that I was in good hands. On the first day of Nino being on vacation, he sent a text confirming what was set up for the week and sent me a schedule.” Zech’s last comment was, “Nino has saved me more than any other trade out here, he is the best drywall supervisor I have ever worked with.”

Zech also shared kind words about our service team, “when I see the MAREK service guys, I know it will be done right and look great!”

Thank you all for what you do for MAREK!

ON THE HORIZON

Gwinnett, which marks our commitment to the healthcare industry in collaboration with GC, Batson-Cook Construction. The project, located in Lawrenceville, GA, will entail the construction of a 15-story patient tower expansion.

David Salyers has been leading our preconstruction team, while Aris Matteis and Carlos Pangui have been handling the estimating duties. Carlos Pangui and Greg Stine will serve as the project management team for this 7-year project, with Marty Shonkwiler as Senior Project Executive. We are excited to embark on this journey and look forward to delivering exceptional results.

AUSTIN

A 42,200 -sf tenant finish-out project recently began for a new mid-rise building in Downtown Austin, Texas. The building is three floors in height and designed to cater to the needs of Texas Permanent School Fund (TPSF), a division of the Texas Education Agency responsible for managing public school lands and sales proceeds.

Working on this project include Heutimio Moreno (Foreman), Sebastian Dominguez, Jesus Diaz Perez, Leonardo Moreno. Beck Construction is GC and Studio 8 is Architect.

HOUSTON

To meet the rising demand for vaccines, Fujifilm is expanding their production facilities. Construction consists of two buildings, Fujifilm DT Building 200 Annex and Project Flagships. These efforts are aimed to increase the capacity of existing production facilities so that they can manufacture more vaccines in a shorter time period.

ATLANTA

This summer, we will be working on our latest project, the Northside Hospital

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These two buildings are part of a single-use manufacturing campus expansion project in College Station, Texas. The expansion

will add a new cGMP production facility that will be operational by 2024 and is expected to add 150 skilled positions to the site. The expansion will double the Company’s advanced therapy and vaccine manufacturing capacity in the U.S.

Our Insulation team was contracted by Vaughn Construction to install 13 sets of Spray foam in the Fujifilm DT BUILDING 200 ANNEX, and Project Flagship will consist of 43,000 sf of rigid insulation and 41 sets of spray foam. Our team consisting of Estimator, Sharon Schoolcraft, and Project Managers, Matthew Hlady and Charlie Gremillion, are looking forward to being part of such an important project!

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

ATLANTA

By Reginald Coleman – WFD Head Coach

These past three months have been busy for the Atlanta WFD Team. Our boot camp is going well which allows new employees a seamless transition into the workforce with confidence. We were able to begin a new partnership with Baker Elementary and Marietta High School, allowing us the opportunity to mentor and instruct students on our craft and express the importance of our trade. In early March, we took part in the 2023 CareerEXPO & SkillsUSA event where students from all parts of Georgia

competed in different trade events, including a few students from Berkmar High School who were taught under MAREK’s WFD Department. We are immensely proud of the Atlanta team and the dedication they have for today’s youth who are the future of MAREK. Our mission is simple: To open the eyes of the youth and help them see a solid career path MAREK can offer in the construction industry.

AUSTIN

In Austin, we are currently conducting Field Supervisor training and Basic Blueprint and Layout classes. We just finished a class for Advanced Construction Drawings.

We are very proud of Johnathon Yglecias for bringing home the Silver Medal from the National Craft Competition in Florida.

Professionals (MCP) and Foremen! Our MCPs are recognized throughout the organization as having attained the highest credential offered to the workforce and is considered the “gold standard” of recognition for our craft professionals.

MAREK Foremen possess welldeveloped leadership skills, are wellversed in managing a team, developing and maintaining a schedule, and show commitment to their team and their projects’ successes!

Congratulations to each of you on taking the next big step in your career!

DALLAS

Carlos Alvarado (MAREK

Dallas)

participated in a fourperson multitrade team representing TEXO, The Construction Association/CEF Commercial Teams Competition, and received the Safety Award!

HOUSTON

Congratulations to our newly promoted Houston MAREK Certified

HOUSTON

On March 23, 2023 ,Workforce Development Houston attended #SheBuildsHouston; Head, Head Coaches Jessica Colindrez, Alex Juarez, Aurelio Flores, along with Craft Professionals Wendy Sandoval, Alyssa Parada, and Kimberly Villatoro, successfully managed the hands-on booth where young females had the opportunity to learn the safe use of drywall screw guns, and competed against each other to see who can put more screws in 60 seconds. Special thanks to Jessica Colindrez for leading the coordination and logistics of the event.

#SHEbuildsHouston is a career exploration event designed to introduce young women to the many career opportunities the construction Page 3

industry offers. We are thankful for the partnership with Katy ISD to put hand tools, power tools, and other building materials into the hands of 1,700 young women in 7th & 8th grade so they can experience what it takes to work in construction in a fun and safe environment!

top honor of representing MAREK at ABC Nationals. In this competition, each competitor must perform hands-on tasks specific to the metal stud framing and drywall trades. Each competitor must be proficient in print reading and understanding general notes and layout. A medal-winning performance is achieved when an individual makes the best use of their time, materials, focus on safety, and accurately completing their build to the best of their ability.

dependable, efficient, eager to learn and always willing to jump in to lend a hand. I would like to thank him on behalf of our Atlanta Team for being such a valuable employee.

-Derek Marzak Operations Manager

AUSTIN

SAN ANTONIO

Sebastian Flores received the Bronze Medal in the Drywall Competition at the ABC National Craft Convention. We are extremely proud of Sebastian for showcasing his work and dedication to the craft during this competition and beyond.

AUSTIN, DALLAS, SAN ANTONIO

The ABC National Craft Championships highlight the achievements of the men and women who represent the construction industry’s future. Craft trainees and apprentices travel nationwide to demonstrate their superior skills, training, and safe work practices and compete for top honors in their chosen craft. Sebastian Flores (San Antonio), Johnathan Yglesias (Austin), Luke Bryant, and Carlos Alvarado (Dallas) represented MAREK in the Drywall and Commercial Team Competition.

We want to take this time to acknowledge our Drywall Competitors, Johnathan Yglesias from our MAREK Austin and Sebastian Flores from MAREK San Antonio! In November, these two competed against other MAREK craft professionals to earn the

We had two MAREK competitors in the Commercial Team Competition. This event has four craft journey-level professionals working as a team to complete a series of craft-specific tasks focusing on electrical, plumbing, sheet metal/HVAC, and carpentry. Luke Bryant (who won the CEF North Texas Trades Team Competition) and Carlos Alvarado from MAREK Dallas represented the carpentry portion of their teams.

This event would not be possible without the expertise and dedication of our on-site Head Coaches, Ed Cheney, Joe Gonzalez, Pablo Zarate, Gabriel Garcia, and Craft Superintendents, Ricardo Menchaca and Stacy Gunderson, who have each dedicated themselves to craft excellence and growing others.

OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEES

ATLANTA

I would like to recognize Sergio Linarte Garcia, recently promoted Drywall Crew Lead for Outstanding Employee. He has been with MAREK for 8 years and helped build our most complex projects including Facebook and Microsoft. He is

MAREK Austin would like to recognize Johnathan Yglecias, Drywall Mechanic. Since his hiring in July 2020, Johnathan has had a strong work ethic and an eagerness to learn new and advanced trade practices. He has proven his skills by winning the MAREK WFD competition and by placing 2nd in the National WFD Craft Competition held by ABC in March 2023. Congratulations, Johnathan!

HOUSTON

Congratulations to Marco Romero for the recognition he received from ButlerCohen as their Empowerment of the Month for January! Marco was recognized for his hard work, safe conduct, excellent work ethic, and for exemplifying the ButlerCohen Empowerment Culture on the Aker Bio Marine project!

Thank you, Marco, for showcasing what “Strength from Within” means!

HOUSTON RESIDENTIAL

MAREK Houston is pleased to acknowledge Osteen Lopez, an emerging talent in our commercial estimating division. Hailing from Caracas, Venezuela, Osteen joined the team in August of 2022, as a Production Manager for Houston’s largest production account. He plays forward for a local soccer team and

enjoys running, biking, and swimming. His favorite sport is long board surfing. We are delighted to have him as a part of our organization. Congratulations to Osteen on his achievement!

HOUSTON RESIDENTIAL

Congratulations to Stephanie Hitchcock, Customer Service Dispatcher at MAREK Houston, for her exceptional work as Daytime Service Manager. She plays a crucial role as the link between our housing customers and service crews, ensuring our builders complete their houses and return for future business. When she’s not at work, she enjoys outdoor activities, including water skiing and softball, and you can always find her surrounded by her large family on the weekends. Stephanie’s dedication and warm demeanor have made a lasting impression on our customers, who say her smile shines through the phone. We are proud to have Stephanie on our team.

PEOPLE NEWS

HOUSTON COMMERCIAL

MAREK Houston is pleased to welcome Melanie Rivas to Special Project Department as a Project Manager/ Estimator! Born and raised in New Jersey, Melanie moved to Houston in 2014. Her work history is vast, from Environmental Engineering to Commercial Roofing, where she honed her skills in administration, overseeing the daily activities of multiple projects, crews, and locations. When asked what she’s most looking forward to she said, “I feel so fortunate to work with incredibly smart and passionate people who are committed to their fields of work and their clients. I am looking forward to

developing my skills further.” We, too, are looking forward to helping you further develop your skills. Welcome to the team, Melanie!

HOUSTON COMMERCIAL

The Houston Estimating/Project Management team is currently undergoing changes as Tenant Manager, Josh Marek, will be joining the Drywall Department to estimate new facilities. To ensure a smooth transition, Josh will work alongside Paint Estimator/Project Manager, David Mauzy, to support his efforts in getting familiarized with drywall take-offs, enabling him to handle both drywall and paint scopes of work. Meanwhile, Service Manager, Gary Price, will take on the responsibility of managing the Tenant group. The team aims to minimize disruptions to all parties involved, especially our clients, and we anticipate the transition to be completed by January 2024.

HOUSTON COMMERCIAL

MAREK Houston is thrilled to extend a warm welcome another new team member, Michael Jacobs! Originally from Texas, Michael graduated from Texas A&M 10 years ago and has worked in operations and sales for a waste hauler in the Greater Houston area and South Texas, focusing on industrial and construction waste streams. His vast experience in the commercial, residential, and industrial industries will no doubt make him invaluable on the Estimating team. He looks forward to building a long and fruitful career at MAREK in the new DEKO Division and is excited to get to know everyone. Welcome, Michael!

HOUSTON RESIDENTAL

After over fifty years of dedicated service, both Eddie Medina and Donald Marek have retired at the end of 2022. These two pioneers of

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the tract housing business in the 70s had distinguished careers as drywall finishers before passing on their legacy to MAREK Houston Residential. Their commitment to excellence has left MAREK Houston Residential with a reputation for providing the best quality drywall work in the city of Houston. We wish Eddie and Donald a happy and well-deserved retirement and thank them for their many years of service to MAREK and the industry.

ATLANTA

We would like to congratulate Will Perry as our new Safety Manager. Our safety team is also happy to add Rodrigo Caballero and David Torres as our new Safety Advisors.

We also want to congratulate Tony Smith, who was recently promoted to Project Superintendent. He is currently overseeing our major hospital projects; CHOA Hospital, NGMC Gainesville and Northside Hospital Gwinnett.

AUSTIN

MAREK Austin would like to welcome Indalecio Osorio to the team, joining as an Estimator/PM on March 20, 2023. Indy is a graduate of Texas State University Construction Program. He comes from a construction family and has worked in the industry since high school. On summer breaks while attending Texas State, he worked for MAREK for a year and a half as a framer on the award-winning TxDOT project. Welcome, Indy!

ATLANTA

Congratulations to Valeria Huerta, our payroll administrator, on her wedding. We wish you a lifetime of happiness!

DALLAS

Robson Ranch, a long standing customer for MBC Dallas recently had their Trade Alliance Meeting where the MAREK team was awarded Subcontractor of the 2nd Quarter 2022 and Customer Service Subcontractor of the 3rd Quarter 2022. In addition, personal recognition was given to Dianna Charles (warranty) and Juanito Fernandez (service) for their outstanding attitude and work ethic!

CORPORATE

We’re proud to announce that MAREK Director of Talent Development, Sabra Phillips is the 20232024 Chair of the National Center for Construction Education and Research’s (NCCER) Workforce Development Committee. Sabra has served on the committee since 2015, advocating for craft talent solutions, career advancement, and industry growth.

Katrina Henry joins us in the Houston Corporate office. Katrina is a Houston native and a graduate from the University of Houston. She has taken on the role of Executive Assistant primarily supporting the Accounting and Family Office departments. Because of her background in banking and financial management, she looks forward to expanding her accounting knowledge within the construction industry.

Please join us in welcoming Jeff Kenney to MAREK Houston as a PMO Project Manager! Initially heralded from Ohio, he moved to Texas “as fast as he could” and has been a resident of Houston for the last 43 years. He brings with him over 25 years of Project Management experience, supporting the IT, construction, oil and gas, safety, and aerospace industries. He

looks forward to being part of MAREK’s digital transformation strategy for longterm growth and profitability. We are incredibly excited you’re here, Jeff!

In January our Houston, Corporate, and MEMCO Houston team celebrated Susan Viereck and her retirement. Susan spent 33 years at MAREK making connections with both our clients and our personnel in our Credit Department. Susan’s professionalism, positivity, and relatability created an environment that was easy to be a part of.

“Susan leaves big shoes to fill in the Credit Department. Her influence over the last 33 years brought a team approach to customer relations between Sales and Credit by developing productive and lifelong relationships with both customers and co-workers. Susan’s reach extended beyond MAREK to the business organizations she was involved in and was named Credit Executive of the Year twice! We wish Susan and Randy a long and happy retirement! We will certainly miss her!” Director of Credit - Steve Winn

COMPANY HAPPENINGS

& EVENTS

HOUSTON

On Tuesday, February 28th, Houston Drywall Field Supervisor, Paul Trujillo, participated in a skilled trades virtual panel hosted by Ace Mentor Houston. This event allowed students the opportunity to hear what a typical day on the job is like for a Drywall Supervisor.

Paul did a great job of explaining the expectations of what a MAREK supervisor keeps in mind to ensure their

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crews are productive and safe. He also covered the importance of coordination with the general contractor and other subcontractors on site, pre-planning, and ordering and scheduling materials. It’s definitely a joint effort to ensure a project is successful.

Thank you, Paul, for being a part of this panel! It’s a joint effort from everyone to ensure a project is successful.

ACE Mentor Houston is an afterschool mentoring program focusing on Architecture, Construction, and Engineering and targeting under-served high school students.

ATLANTA

We appreciate all our hardworking employees and Mindy Griffeth, Project Manager for our CHOA Clinic project, wanted to express her gratitude with an Employee Appreciation Lunch. She treated all employees working at the CHOA Clinic Building to a pizza lunch on Friday, March 24th.

HOUSTON

The Houston team is thankful to AGC Houston for hosting The Fundamentals of Building Trades - Fireproofing, Firestopping, and Building Thermal Insulation earlier this year.

This event allowed our very own industry expert, John Ryder, to share his knowledge of one of the industry’s more difficult scopes to interpret. We hope everyone learned something new and walked away with more confidence regarding building code requirements, plan interpretation, and practical knowledge surrounding this scope of work.

We appreciate everyone who attended

and look forward to answering questions for those who want more information.

CORPORATE

ABC National Convention: Sabra Phillips, MAREK’s Director of Talent Development, joined a panel last week as an industry expert alongside Ryan Odendahl, Kwest Group, Fred McManus, Brown & Root Industrial Services, LLC, and Annie Mecias, JA&M Developing Corp. at the “Building the Bench: Taking a Creative and Inclusive Approach to Workforce Development” Industry Insight Session.

These leaders discussed a variety of recruitment strategies in an increasing workforce shortage. This innovative session allows the panelist an opportunity to share how they’ve managed to impact the workforce by tapping into unique partnerships with communities, schools, and the companies they work with.

DEATHS HOUSTON

We are heartbroken to announce that James Underwood passed away on March 30th after a long illness. James began his career in 1985 and made his mark in the industry as a lead Drywall Foreman in Houston’s Medical Center. James’s capacity to work hard while having fun is how many of his coworkers will remember him. The 36 years he spent working for the company were made possible by his sense of humor, work ethic, and enthusiasm for all things MAREK. Please keep his family, friends, and loved ones in your prayers.

BIRTHS AUSTIN

Congratulations to Johnathon Yglecias on the birth of his son, Levi Ezekiel Yglecias, who was born on Sept 24, 2022, andDef weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. Levi’s birth also made our WFD Head Coach, Joe Pete Gonzales, a great-grandfather!

HOUSTON

Congratulations to Acoustical Lead, Andy Chien, and his wife, Frida, on the birth of their sweet son, Nathan, this past December!

MESSAGE FROM STAN

Hard to believe we’re almost halfway through 2023! So true, as we get older, time passes faster!

Overall, we are on budget and my crystal ball says we are going to finish at budget and better in some markets. This is not to suggest we are without our challenges. Material prices have stabilized but are still escalating and supply remains an issue. In addition, labor is almost impossible to find. Relationships with our customers and their confidence in us remain critical, but low price still gets attention. There are a lot of parts and pieces to this operation and an incredible number of people who are responsible for making this all happen. I thank you all for your efforts.

One thing I would like to share. I recently returned from what was our 36th year of meeting with a peer group of drywall and ceiling contractors with offices all over the country. We compete in no markets and this group was set up originally by our national drywall association. Its purpose is to improve our industry by sharing best practices and exploring ways to position our companies as leaders in the industry.

When I attended my first meeting many years ago, I was the youngest attendee. Now I’m the oldest and I can truly say that our team at MAREK has greatly benefited from the information shared for so many years.

During the meeting, it became obvious to me that our industry is not an easy one. This revelation wasn’t necessarily shocking, but it really moved to the forefront after hearing each and every drywall contractor executive describe their challenges. It is more labor intensive

than most trades and represents a constantly changing environment for our working men and women.

Years ago, our entire group of companies were union. Perhaps some of you may remember attending the four- year union apprenticeship school as part of CDI. To be part of our industry back in those days, it was an honor and you had to know someone to be approved for membership. For reasons more numerous and complicated than can be covered in this message, today the union contractors in our trades are no more effective at dealing with their issues than their non-union counterparts.

And to make it even more complicated, many in our trade are opting to not have “employees”’ but classify workers as independent subcontractors to avoid the responsibilities of having W-2 employees such as not having to pay payroll taxes, provide any sort of insurance or provide any benefits. Much of this phenomenon is covered in my book, Deconstructed, which is available on Amazon if you are interested in reading it.

But my reason in bringing this up is to share what our peer group companies are experiencing all over the country. Most are union but even the unions have been unable to recruit the workers they need. There just aren’t enough young men and women entering the trades and a large segment of our drywall and ceiling applicant pool is undocumented and companies like us and the others in our group can’t hire them because they lack legal status.

As a result, these workers gravitate to those companies who misclassify their workers as independent contractors thereby avoiding the I-9 process or the E-Verify system. In addition to being able to access these workers, these companies enjoy an unfair competitive advantage by not paying any of the payroll and related costs of having true employees.

We really need Congress to fix the laws that govern these practices. Many of us have been proposing an ID and Tax solution that would legalize the hiring of these otherwise undocumented workers if they would get a foolproof government identification and work authorization after passing a background check and provided they have been in the country at least five years.

This would not provide for a path to citizenship nor grant access to any type of government benefits. But, just like if they had a Visa, they could remain in the US and work and pay taxes like the rest of us. In addition, it would entitle them to get a driver’s license and purchase insurance.

In the end, this would level the playing field for contractors bidding for work and help address the incredible labor shortage that the members of our peer group and the entire construction industry is facing.

Many of you who will read this column have families and friends that are being impacted daily by our country’s broken immigration system.

We need to all seriously think about e-mailing or writing our elected officials and asking that they consider ID and Tax as a solution for our broken immigration system and all its undesirable consequences. To stay updated on this important issue, consider subscribing to the Rational Middle Immigration Newsletter. Read the latest edition here.

Thanks for all you do to make our company a success!

-Stan

¡Es mitad envejecemos, En presupuesto vamos mejor para desafíos. han estabilizado, y la Además, encontrar. clientes siendo aún de partes un número son esto esfuerzos.

Una Recientemente nuestro de colegas yeso No este nuestra de yeso. nuestra mejores de posicionar líderes Cuando muchos joven. puedo MAREK de la tantos Durante nuestra no fue realmente de escuchar

¡Es difícil creer que estemos casi a mitad de 2023! Así que, a medida que envejecemos, ¡el tiempo pasa más rápido!

En general, estamos dentro del presupuesto y mi bola de cristal dice que vamos a terminar en el presupuesto y mejor en algunos mercados. Esto no es para sugerir que estamos sin nuestros desafíos. Los precios de los materiales se han estabilizado, pero siguen aumentando y la oferta sigue siendo un problema. Además, el trabajo es casi imposible de encontrar. Las relaciones con nuestros clientes y su confianza en nosotros siguen siendo criticadas, pero el bajo precio aún llama la atención. Hay un montón de partes y piezas en esta operación y un número increíble de personas que son responsables de hacer que todo esto suceda. Les agradezco a todos sus esfuerzos.

Una cosa que me gustaría compartir. Recientemente regresé de lo que fue nuestro 36th año de reunión con un grupo de colegas de contratistas de paneles de yeso y techos con oficinas en todo el país. No competimos en ningún mercado y este grupo fue creado originalmente por nuestra asociación nacional de paneles de yeso. Su propósito es mejorar nuestra industria compartiendo las mejores prácticas y explorando formas de posicionar a nuestras empresas como líderes en la industria.

Cuando asistí a mi primera reunión hace muchos años, yo era el asistente más joven. Ahora soy el mayor y realmente puedo decir que nuestro equipo en MAREK se ha beneficiado enormemente de la información compartida durante tantos años.

Durante la reunión, se me hizo obvio que nuestra industria no es fácil. Esta revelación no fue necesariamente impactante, pero realmente pasó a la vanguardia después de escuchar a todos y cada uno de los

ejecutivos de contratistas de paneles de yeso describir sus desafíos. Es más intensiva en mano de obra que la mayoría de los oficios y representa un entorno en constante cambio para nuestros hombres y mujeres trabajadores.

Hace años, todo nuestro grupo de empresas era sindicato. Tal vez algunos de ustedes recuerden haber asistido a la escuela de aprendizaje sindical de cuatro años como parte de CDI. Ser parte de nuestra industria en aquellos días, era un honor y tenías que conocer a alguien para ser aprobado para la membresía. Por razones más numerosas y complicadas de las que se pueden cubrir en este mensaje, hoy los contratistas sindicales en nuestros oficios no son más eficaces para tratar sus problemas que sus contrapartes no sindicales.

Y para hacerlo aún más complicado, muchos en nuestro oficio están optando por no tener “empleados”, sino que clasifican a los trabajadores como subcontratistas independientes para evitar las responsabilidades de tener empleados W-2, como no tener que pagar impuestos sobre la nómina, proporcionar ningún tipo de seguro o proporcionar ningún beneficio. Gran parte de este fenómeno está cubierto en mi libro, Deconstructed, que está disponible en Amazon si está interesado en leerlo. Pero mi razón para presentar esto es compartir lo que están experimentando nuestras compañías de grupo en todo el país. La mayoría son sindicatos, pero incluso los sindicatos no han podido reclutar a los trabajadores que necesitan. Simplemente no hay suficientes hombres y mujeres jóvenes que ingresan a los oficios y un gran segmento de nuestro grupo de solicitantes de paneles de yeso y techo es indocumentado y empresas como nosotros y los demás en nuestro grupo no pueden contratarlos porque carecen de estatus legal.

Como resultado, estos trabajadores gravitan hacia aquellas empresas que clasifican erróneamente a sus trabajadores como contratistas independientes evitando así el proceso I-9 o el sistema E-Verify. Además de poder acceder a estos trabajadores, estas empresas gozan

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de una ventaja competitiva injusta al no pagar ninguna de las nóminas y costos relacionados con tener verdaderos empleados.

Realmente necesitamos que el Congreso arregle las leyes que rigen estas prácticas. Muchos de nosotros hemos estado proponiendo una solución de identificación e impuestos que legalizaría la contratación de estos trabajadores indocumentados si obtuvieran una identificación gubernamental infalible y una autorización de trabajo después de pasar una verificación de antecedentes y siempre que hayan estado en el país por lo menos cinco años.

Esto no proveería un camino a la ciudadanía ni concedería acceso a ningún tipo de beneficios del gobierno. Pero, al igual que si tuvieran una visa, podrían permanecer en los EE. UU. Y trabajar y pagar impuestos como el resto de nosotros. Además, les daría derecho a obtener una licencia de conducir y comprar un seguro.

Al final, esto nivelaría el campo de juego para los contratistas que licitan por el trabajo y ayudaría a abordar la increíble escasez de mano de obra que enfrentan los miembros de nuestro grupo de colegas y a toda la industria de la construcción.

Muchos de ustedes que leerán esta columna tienen familiares y amigos que se ven afectados diariamente por el sistema de inmigración roto de nuestro país.

Todos debemos pensar seriamente en enviar correos electrónicos o escribir a nuestros funcionarios electos y pedirles que consideren la identificación y los impuestos como una solución para nuestro sistema de inmigración roto y todas sus consecuencias indeseables. Para mantenerse actualizado sobre este importante tema, considere suscribirse al Boletín Rational Middle Immigration. Lea la última edición aquí.

¡Gracias por todo lo que hacen para hacer de nuestra empresa un éxito!

-Stan

ATLANTA

MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS)

AUSTIN

MAREK Brothers Company (MBC)

MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS)

DALLAS

MAREK Brothers Company (MBC)

MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS)

FORT WORTH

MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS)

HOUSTON

MAREK Brothers Company (MBC)

MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS)

Oak Forest Lumber & Supply Company (OFL)

Blue Bell - Stanley Construction Company

Insights

3539 Oak Forest Drive, Suite 200

Houston, Texas 77018

NASHVILLE

MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS)

RIO GRANDE VALLEY

MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS)

SAN ANTONIO

MAREK Brothers Systems (MBS)