Frank's Quality Wood Floors, Inc. - Bend, OR

To: Greg Ford CMA
Ponderosa Medical/Bend Chamber of Commerce
Re: What it means for a company to be drug free

Dear Greg,

I finally got some time to write a few lines about what it means, and is like, to make a company drug free. I can only tell you what has transpired here at my company since I made the decision. It has been quite an experience. Please feel free to share this with the chamber and all employers who want to know about going drug free and stopping illegal drug use in our community.

First of all, if you have a company with employees in central Oregon then you probably have some people who are using drugs. The drug testing agencies I have contacted tell me about 30% to 40% of the work force here is on something. If you think you can tell if someone is using just by looking at them, you're wrong. Some drug abuse is obvious. Meth is one of those drugs that eventually make people's teeth turn black and fall out so it is obvious in a few months. Cocaine and marijuana are not as evident. A person who uses these drugs recreationally will not necessarily be high when on your job site. They will, however, suffer from some form of mental incapacitation because of their use. So, you have to drug test to be sure. This is the first step to protect your business, yourself, your community, and your clients. This is the first step I took in my movement to a drug free company.

Last October, I went Elk hunting in the N.E. corner of the state and I had a lot of time to think about how the business was coming along. What I mean by that is the elk were not there. So, there I was, sitting on the side of a hill in a snow storm. Since I believe in God, we had a chat. It became clear to me on that hill that there was some drug use in the company. All of my employees had signed a document that stated that the use of illegal drugs was grounds for their termination. So, I came home early from hunting and took them off to drug test. I was surprised to find out the results. Yes, I knew that something was off with my company but I had been unable to put my finger on it. Now, with the test results in hand, I knew what was causing the guys to have problems. They had been screwing up jobs, showing up late, and not completing on time. There had also been a lot of fighting among themselves about who didn't want to work with whom and who was doing their job correctly and who was not. There was a lot of bickering and such. The drug testing revealed that two of my employees were using Meth and 4 others were using Marijuana.

I brought the two who had been using Meth into the office and I fired them with the understanding that if they got into a drug rehab program and started to test clean and their counselor could tell me that they were not likely to use again then they could have their job back. The younger guy I fired immediately got into a drug program and has tested clean ever since. He has gotten rid of all his friends he used to hang out with and now concentrates on his wife and children. He came in two weeks after I fired him and thanked me for saving his life and his marriage. His Meth levels were not really high so I was convinced he was an occasional user and was early in the downhill spiral of drug abuse. I am really proud of him and his accomplishment and I gave him his job back. What a difference I see in his work. It's amazing. The other guy I fired for Meth had really high levels and the drug testing agency said his numbers were almost off the charts. He had been working for me for 8 years and instead of getting help in a rehab program he chose to go to work for my competition. His teeth are falling out and I don't believe he will be around for much longer. It's really sad. Of the guys who tested positive for Marijuana, I ended up firing two of them. One just didn't show up for work and didn't call in. This was not his first time pulling this so his job was terminated. One other came in on a Monday morning and when I told him he was going to drug test again, because I now randomly test each month, he quit. I asked him why and he said he had done some Meth over the weekend and he would test positive. This meant I would fire him and make him get into a drug program so he quit and now works for my competition. Of the other two, they have now tested negative and they still work for me. So, now all my employees are drug free. It has not been an easy transition but it was well worth it. Before I got rid of the drug users there were alot of problems every week. Now things run much smoother and the crews are really getting along well. I have hired new employees and they have to test negative before they are employed. I have had to do much training to get the new guys up to speed but it is coming along well. The increase in labor, to train the new guys and work overtime to keep up with the jobs scheduled, has been expensive. It cost me some money, but now after 4 months, the profit is coming back. In another month or two I will have recouped all the expense to train the new employees. That's not bad if you understand that I fired ½ of my crew during the shuffle. The outlook for the year is really great and all the guys get along well now. I know that this will be one of my best years ever. I feel that now I have a crew that I can build a solid business on and there is a much better future for my company. The response from the business people I talk to has been very positive. I have had other companies call me up and applaud me for taking a stand against drugs and putting it on the radio. Many people I do bids for hear that my company is drug free and they book their job with my company because of it. Who really wants a Meth addict in their home? Think about it. I have heard of companies saying that they know their employees use drugs but they don't want to loose ½ of their employees if they start drug testing. Some of these companies have gone as far as to increase their liability insurance in an effort to compensate for the drug users they realize they have. This is really stupid thinking. The insurance companies already believe your employees are using so they charge each and every one of us for the drug users in our community. I don't care how much insurance you have, if one of your drug using employees drives over a child in a company vehicle, it won't be enough! How would you face that parent knowing very well that you made money more important than their son or daughter's life? How will you respond to a client when their home has been burglarized by one of your employees who needed money for his next fix? Can you really trust a Meth addict? Do you want to see the drug use in our community decrease or are you content to look the other way? When are you going to do something about it? These are some of the questions I ask to other employers. Its time to get off your butt and do something about the drug problem in our area. If you have employees and you don't drug test you are part of the drug problem. I believe this is not just my opinion, it is a fact. The business community has the opportunity to make a difference in the fight against drug abuse. As an employer you enable drug users to feed their habit in the early stages. Later, as their use increases, they will need more and more money. This increases crime in our neighborhoods and puts everyone at risk. Think about it.

In closing this letter I would like to just say that the cost of getting rid of the users in my company was well worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. If you decide to do as I have done then realize it won't be easy but you will be happy you made the decision and you will realize the increase in profits. I challenge all the employers in our community to take the stand I have and join me in the fight against drug abuse. The buck stops with you. What are you going to do about it?

Sincerely,
Frank L. Garrett
President
Frank's Quality Wood Floors, Inc.