Peek inside a GE Johnson construction site and you’ll see workers wearing hard hats in blue, white and green. But mainly you’ll see them in gray—the color awarded to people who have worked for the company for at least five years. You will also see shiny white stickers that denote the number of years of employment. It’s not uncommon for them to reach into the high 20s and 30s.
So it is with an employee-owned general contractor known for loyalty among both its employees and its clients. (Various GE Johnson officials estimate that 85% to 90% of the firm’s business comes from repeat clients.) Mario Elliott, a career-long employee who runs GE Johnson’s equipment division, may be typical. He started with the company as a summer laborer when he was a teenager and rose to his present position during a 36-year span.