Source: https://www.foxnews.com/media/jersey-shore-pizzeria-owner-loan-pay-workers
March 23, 2020
A Jersey Shore pizza shop owner has made the ultimate commitment to his employees as the Garden State's economy grapples with restrictions put in place to counter the coronavirus outbreak.
Bryan Morin, the owner of Federico's Pizzeria & Restaurant in Belmar, opened a $50,000 line of credit in order to continue paying his employees.
"It just seemed like the right thing to do," Morin told "Tucker Carlson Tonight". "I didn't want them to worry about me paying my mortgage, I didn't want these guys ... [to] have to worry about paying their rent, their utilities and insurance and other stuff."
Morin added that many of his employees have been with him for more than a decade and have essentially become members of his family.
Carlson said the restaurateur's action was "heroic," but noted that Federico's is not yet shut down, but rather forced to serve customers through takeout or delivery only
Morin said the line of credit is a security blanket of sorts in the event of a worst-case scenario.
"I took that money out just in case they did shut us down ... Currently, we are still working, but who knows, maybe one of the employees actually gets the virus and then we will be forced to close and self-quarantine for 14 days," Morin said.
"I just took this out to guarantee that my employees, no matter what, they'll continue to be able to pay their bills. You've got to take care of your employees. Without your employees, you don't have a business."
Pizzeria borrows to keep workers on job, spurs donations By Wayne Parry
Source: https://apnews.com/59d1ce33192a45f559e3d08cc7476e55March 29, 2020
In this March 26, 2020 photo provided by Maureen Morin and Federico's Pizza, staff members of the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center give a thumbs-up in Neptune City, N.J., as they eat a donated meal from the Belmar, New Jersey pizzeria. With restaurants closed for all but takeout orders during the coronavirus outbreak, the owners of the pizzeria could have shut down and laid off their 20 employees. Instead, the business's owners took out a $50,000 line of credit and guaranteed their workers they'll stay on the payroll for at least two months. (Courtesy of Maureen Morin via AP)
BELMAR, N.J. (AP) — This is a story about bosses and their workers, in the dark days of COVID-19. It’s also a story about how one good turn deserves another and yet another.
And this being New Jersey, it’s also a story about pizza.
Bryan Morin and his brother Michael operate Federico’s Pizza in this Jersey Shore town. In the summer, they deliver cheese steak pizzas and 12-inch subs and garlic knots directly to the beach, a few blocks away. In winter, customers flock to the cozy, black-and-white tiled restaurant on Main Street.
But across the ocean, trouble brewed. Bryan Morin tossed and turned all night after watching news reports of how a virus spread rapidly in Italy, eventually bringing life to a virtual standstill and leading to massive layoffs as businesses closed down.
He could not let this happen at Federico’s.
Many of his employees have been with the business for a decade or more; the head cook has been there for 22 years, since the business was owned by Bryan and Michael’s father.
“I’m the provider for my employees; I supply their salary, and if they don’t have a salary, they won’t be able to afford their rent, their credit card bills, their insurance, their gas,” he said.
He decided to “do the right thing and take the hit, and I’ll make it up somewhere down the line.”
So about two weeks ago, he secured a $50,000 line of credit from his bank. He promised his workers they’d have a job for at least the next two months, come what may. He’d reassess conditions after that, but he’d do everything possible to keep the paychecks flowing.
As word of the brothers’ pledge got around, the community rallied round. Customers began helping out: an extra $10 on top of the usual 20% tip, a few bucks earmarked for the kitchen staff.
But then, something unexpected happened -- a surge of pay-it-forward donations.
People -- some who were ordering food, some who just wanted to help -- called and asked the pizzeria to charge their credit cards for food to be sent to those on the front lines of the virus response: Doctors, nurses and other staff at a nearby hospital, police, firefighters and EMS squads.
In just two days last week, Federico’s took in nearly $4,000 to make and deliver pizzas to first responders. Moments before Bryan Morin was interviewed last week, the pizzeria sent 30 free pizzas to Jersey Shore Medical Center, a vital battleground in the fight against COVID-19 in a state that has the second-most cases in the nation.
All because the boss cared.
“This is such a scary time, and so many people are getting laid off,” said Kirsten Phillips, who works the counter. “It was so unexpected what he did, but maybe it shouldn’t have been, because he always took care of us. This is really the best job I’ve ever had.”
___While nonstop global news about the effects of the coronavirus have become commonplace, so, too, are the stories about the kindness of strangers and individuals who have sacrificed for others. “One Good Thing” is an AP continuing series reflecting these acts of kindness.
___Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
___Follow Wayne Parry at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC
N.J. mattress and tablecloth companies flip to making medical masks for health care workers By Rodrigo Torrejon
Source: https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/03/nj-mattress-and-tablecloth-companies-flip-to-making-medical-masks-for-health-care-workers.htmlMar 25, 2020
In the age of a pandemic, what do a North Brunswick mattress company and a Paterson tablecloth factory have in common?
Both companies have decided to use their expertise to start making medical masks, fighting the dwindling supply of the critically needed and potentially life-saving masks for healthcare workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak in New Jersey.
At its North Brunswick factory, mattress manufacturer Eclipse International will pivot from making mattresses to producing an initial batch of 38,000 masks, with plans to donate all the masks to healthcare workers who have been pleading for more supplies of protective gear. The first batch will be donated to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, in New Brunswick, according to a statement.
The switch started when Stuart Carlitz, president and CEO of Eclipse International, watched a grim report of a shortage of the masks and realized much of the same materials were used for the mattresses he had been making for years.
“This all started Friday morning when I heard Governor Cuomo in New York talk about the fact that they were out of masks and scrambling to find them and that they were actually paying much higher prices than what masks were being sold for weeks earlier," said Stuart Carlitz, president and CEO of Eclipse International. “My first thought was that’s really terrible that people would take advantage of this time to profit.”
Looking down at masks his wife had given him to protect himself, Carlitz saw that one of the materials used in the mask were the same as in the mattresses: an Elite nonwoven fabric textile.
After ordering materials the company didn’t have, including elastic, the company is set to produce the three-layer masks, Carlitz said.
“I started researching on the internet for designs,” he said. “Sourcing the materials that I needed. We got our first delivery of elastic Monday morning. We immediately made several prototype masks.”
Additional materials came in Tuesday, with production expected to ramp up this week.
In Paterson, at the Tablecloth Company, which makes — you guessed it — table clothes, requests from customers to look into making masks prompted the company to work at some prototypes. Many of the requests came from customers at nursing homes, where outbreaks of the virus can often be deadly.
The flip to making the tiny, stretchy masks that just barely cover the mouth and nose is a learning experience for a company that puts together mattresses. Much less material is used, but machines need to be retrofitted and employees retrained.
But the unprecedented need calls for unprecedented changes. Eventually, if the first batch goes well, Carlitz has plans to expand to other places that need the masks. All of the masks though, will remain free.
“I’m not trying to sell masks,” said Carlitz. “Whether it’s a dollar apiece or four dollars apiece, that’s not going to change my business. I’m going to donate the masks.”
Fanatics to make medical gear instead of baseball uniforms
Source: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28959410/fanatics-make-medical-gear-baseball-uniformsMar 26, 2020
PHILADELPHIA -- The Bryce Harper jersey that could have been worn this baseball season by the biggest Philadelphia Phillies fan is now a protective mask in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Fanatics, the company that manufactures uniforms for Major League Baseball, has suspended production on jerseys and is instead using the polyester mesh fabric to make masks and gowns for hospitals in Pennsylvania and nearby states.
New York Yankees and Phillies pinstripes were still in vogue on baseball's scheduled Opening Day on Thursday -- only stitched on the protective wear made by the apparel company.
Michael Rubin, founder and executive chairman of Fanatics, was watching TV last week when he was struck by the idea to turn the 360,000-square-foot facility in Easton, Pennsylvania, into a factory for the COVID-19 virus fight.
We're proud to partner with @MLB to support emergency personnel who are fighting against COVID-19 and face a need for masks and hospital gowns. We're utilizing our manufacturing plant in Easton, PA to make masks and gowns out of the same jersey fabric that the players wear pic.twitter.com/5jEg1B2iUa
— Fanatics (@Fanatics) March 26, 2020
While Rubin considered how he could make it happen, St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, reached out to Fanatics late last week about the possibility of the company manufacturing masks. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro each contacted Rubin over the weekend and told Rubin the state was in "dire need" of more masks and gowns.
Fanatics developed a prototype that was approved by the state's emergency agency and by Tuesday the company halted production of all baseball jerseys.
Rubin, a limited ownership partner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils, said he had the blessing of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to stop producing jerseys.
"'We've got a million yards of fabric that we make these baseball uniforms from -- what would you think if we take that fabric and make masks and gowns?'" Rubin told The Associated Press what he said to Manfred. "He immediately said, 'Great. I want to do it immediately. The most important thing is we've got to help the heroes on the front line, and baseball can help play a role in it.'"
So with Manfred's support, production on the $300 jerseys for Harper, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts and the rest of baseball's brightest stars was stopped. The company makes the uniforms for MLB and Nike.
Fanatics started fashioning masks and gowns on Tuesday, and Rubin hoped to produce nearly 15,000 masks and gowns a day. Rubin, whose Reform Alliance lobbies for changes to state probation and parole laws, said the demand was for 95% masks. The production plant had been shut down as a nonessential business, but about 100 workers have returned to work for Fanatics.
The company is making Level 1 masks, used for low-risk, nonsurgical procedures that are the accepted standard for surgical and procedural use.
Rubin said Wolf told Fanatics the state would pay for the masks and gowns. Rubin, though, said he spoke to Manfred, and Fanatics teamed with MLB to provide hospital uniforms at no cost to those in need in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
Rubin, who has a net worth of $2.3 billion, according for Forbes, said it would cost Fanatics about $3 million to make the masks and gowns and the company would produce at least 1 million over the course of several months.
And if you are one of the few Phillies fans left who doesn't have a Harper jersey but want one?
"I think we've got them, but I'm not 100% sure," Rubin said with a laugh. "I know we can get a mask and a jersey made from one."
There was a bit of a dust-up this week when the Devils and 76ers did an about-face on cutting salaries for employees making more than $100,000. A day after announcing the temporary 20% pay cuts because of the economics effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the teams' co-owners rescinded them.
"As an organization, I don't believe we got right up front," Rubin said. "But I believe we got it right. I think people who know me, know I'm a transparent person. I believe when you get something wrong, you just kind of fix it. Ultimately, as an organization, we fixed it. I'm proud the organization came together and did the right thing by our employees. I think we'll be rewarded by our employees who will feel we did the right thing. We got to the right place."
But when it comes to Fanatics assisting in the coronavirus fight, Rubin added, "We're less worried about manufacturing jerseys and more worried about just saving lives."
No comments:
Post a Comment