Good Labor Staffing acquires Clay Martin's MRC

Birmingham-based Good Labor Staffing, who has provided staffing services with job seekers from Puerto Rico for 20 years, has acquired MRC, another recruiting company. 

MRC, founded in 2016 by Clay Martin, provides recruiting services of American citizens from Puerto Rico to a litany of landscaping companies across the United States.

© Good Labor Staffing 

Martin, fluent in Spanish as a result of four years as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, has approached challenges of the landscape industry like labor shortages and red-tape with the H2B program. Over seven years, Martin cultivated a network of job seekers and partnerships in Puerto Rico. Martin says he knew that to take the business to another level, he would need to partner with another firm that had more resources and offered additional services.  

Martin knew that Good Labor was the ideal company to merge with MRC based on their long tenure and reputation in the recruiting industry. The big difference between Good Labor and MRC: Good Labor offers payroll services, workman’s comp, and provides housing and transportation for their recruits. Good Labor has implemented a model of appointing bilingual site managers that help run operations and this has significantly increased their retention.  

“I’m thrilled to collaborate with Good Labor and their team,” Martin says. “I knew how much we’d grow as a combined entity. I’m excited to continue to help job seekers in Puerto Rico and companies in need of reliable labor. I’ve been quickly impressed with their leadership, systems, and ability to staff quickly and successfully. I’m grateful to everyone that has helped me make this entrepreneurial dream come true.” 

“We knew MRC was an ideal company to merge with and that Clay was the right guy to bring aboard our growing organization” says Coby Orr, owner of Good Labor. “We have combined his direct hire placement model with our staffing model and are now more versatile. Our talent pool has doubled and we are ready for 2024.” 

Good Labor and MRC will continue to serve primarily the landscape industry but also have many clients in the manufacturing, hospitality and manual labor industry. Martin will serve as their vice president of business development, maintain their partnerships in Puerto Rico and offer his expertise to the recruiting team.