• Font Size    

Popular Pets

Zoo Babies: Cuteness Unleashed
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Opa-Locka Workers Given Company "Stimulus" Checks

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +
Jun 24, 2008 6:01 pm US/Eastern

Opa-Locka Workers Given Company "Stimulus" Checks

Earth Friendly Products In South Florida Offers A Boost To Its Employees During Hard Times

OPA-LOCKA (CBS4) ― A South Florida company that makes eco-friendly products is now going green in a way that helps its employees. The green they're now focusing on is money, and they're giving it to their employees to try and help out in these tough times.

Workers at Earth Friendly Products in Opa-Locka are in the green business. EFP manufactures environmentally friendly cleaning supplies, but employees had never seen so much green until last week when they opened up their paychecks.

One employee told CBS4 Reporter Ileana Varela, "Very surprised, very surprised." "Gee whiz, what was this?"

Inside was a bonus - an extra week's pay - to help employees weather the current economic crisis.

"We appreciate a lot what our president did for us; a very nice incentive for us," said General Manager Juan Ramirez.

He's was talking about company president John Vlahakis, who called the bonus the "EFP" stimulus check - not to be confused with the federal government's tax rebate stimulus checks.

Grateful employees said with gas and food prices skyrocketing the bonuses couldn't have come at a better time. And they took no time in putting the extra money to good use.

"I invested it in one month of car payments," said office manager Zulena Navarro.

"Groceries - I had an empty refrigerator. I was almost eating air," said Maintenance Supervisor Miguel Rios.

"It was like a miracle sent from God," said chief electrician Michael Morales.

The company only has 16 employees in South Florida, but 200 nationwide. It spent about $120,000 in bonuses.  At a time when green is in, business is good at EFP, and company officials felt it was the right thing to do - to give back to the employees.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

President-Elect Barack Obama Is Sworn In As The 44th President Of The United States

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Local News

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Television Stations Inc. All Rights Reserved.