This Auto Body Shop Kept Workers Busy, And Paid, Even During The Pandemic Slowdown
The sounds of Texas.
Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT
When Texas went on lockdown this spring because of the coronavirus, roads all across the state were eerily empty. But Johan Ramirez still kept his job as general manager for an auto body repair shop in Austin. Without many cars in need of repair, he and his crew found other ways to keep busy.
Johan Ramirez is general manager of an auto body repair shop in Austin. He says his team pulled together during the pandemic, even as few repair jobs came in.
“You get paid by the job. And it was a little scary. But they basically tightened up the belt and they said, ‘We’re not gonna let anybody go.'”
“We took that time to clean the shop, and paint and pressure wash – I mean, all sorts of things that are not in the job description.”
“[It] all of a sudden turned from a job where you’re worried about your pay, to, What can I do so my teammates are OK?”
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