Sweatshops Exist in Los Angeles
Maura used to live in El Salvador where she lived with her three children. She was making very little as a single mother and couldn’t provide her family a good life ....... She ended up leaving her sons behind and migrating to Los Angeles when she was 21. She hoped to find a good-paying job to send money back to her children and her parents. But to her dismay, she was only able to find a job in a garment factory. Like Muara, the first job immigrants can find when they arrive in LA. is in garment factories. Immigrant workers often leave their home country to escape poverty and to build a better future. However, they soon discover that they are forced to work long hours in unbearable conditions for less than minimum wage. Owners of garment factories unmercifully prey on these immigrant workers because they can’t speak English, don’t know their human rights and are afraid of losing their job and being deported.
L.A’s local and skilled immigrants blood, sweat and tears fuel the country’s garment manufacturing industry by contributing to the largest cut and sew apparel base in the U.S. They are vulnerable to exploitation and to inhumane working conditions in sweatshops that produce the clothing we know as “Made in America”. The result of garment worker exploitation in Los Angeles has made this city the fast fashion capital of U.S.
Source: Garment Worker Center
WHY DO SWEATSHOPS EXIST IN L.A?
Sweatshops exist because of fast fashion, which is a garment manufacturing model that designs, produces, and ships clothing at a rapid pace. Brands release new collections every week which forces factories to quickly produce new clothing. This system allows fast fashion brands to have full control over which factories they subcontract clothing orders to. It also helps them cut costs by going to the cheapest garment factories and to avoid responsibility of inhumane working conditions. Brands that decide to place orders in L.A garment factories are able to shorten the delivery time between producing and shipping clothing to U.S consumers. This is important because fast fashion is largely purchased by Western consumers convinced they need new and trendy styles. And although it is more expensive to have orders made in L.A, compared to Bangladesh, Guatemala, China, etc., this still comes at the cost of local L.A garment workers paycheck, health and overall wellbeing.
Source: Made in America
Factory owners recognize the local and skilled workforce and their position of survival as a way to force them into inhumane working conditions. It has created sweatshops throughout L.A, which have become increasingly deadly to work in during the pandemic. These garment factories failed to pass California’ s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Out of 14 garment manufacturers recently visited by L.A county, 0% were in full protocol compliance. This recent audit is a clear example of the apathy and cruelty owners direct towards their essential workers by leaving them exposed to a deadly virus in exchange for the quick turnout of cheap and production of goods.
Source: La Times
WHAT DO L.A GARMENT WORKERS EXPERIENCE EVERY DAY AT WORK?
Garment workers often work 10-12 hours a day for six days out of the week. They are often in cluttered workstations, either operating a sewing machine, cutting/trimming or handling clothing the whole day. Workers have to perform the same task, over and over again, in factories with bad lighting, that are infested with cockroaches and have mice running around. The bathrooms are unsanitary, there are no water stations and the exit doors are blocked off to prevent people from leaving. And it gets worse, garment workers have to inhale airborne fiber dust in intense heat because of poor ventilation. They then have to endure hours of deafening sewing machine noise and exposure to toxic chemicals found in the clothing that end up staining their hands.
Source: Garment Worker Center
If garment workers fail to complete the daily volume quota, they are forced to take the remaining pieces home to be finished. This illustrates the intense and constant pressure of making the same repetitive movement at a rapid pace while sitting for long periods of time while exposed to toxic factors. It causes workers to experience back, shoulder and hip injuries and chronic health issues, such as cardiovascular diseases. Studies also show that workers employed under the piece rate system are more likely to be injured at work compared to workers with a set salary. This is because piece workers take fewer breaks and force themselves into risky situations to increase how much they earn per hour.
HOW ARE L.A GARMENT WORKERS VULNERABLE TO EXPLOITATION?
Immigrants employed in the garment industry often face a series of setbacks that make them vulnerable to exploitation. The most apparent one is not knowing how to speak English, which limits their options for jobs and can force them into labor-intensive jobs, such as agriculture. It also creates an inability to speak out about the injustices they experience and heightens the fear to lose their job. Undocumented and fearful of deporation are also factors they have to consider when deciding to change jobs. It forces them to decide whether they should stay in L.A and work in garment factories or uproot themselves and be lucky to find a different job elsewhere.
“I’ve always worked in this [industry]and truthfully, I came to this country to develop what I’d learned but lamentably, my experience has been totally the opposite. My understanding was that I would be valued and I’d be treated well and that maybe I would be paid a fair wage. They don’t pay me well, truthfully, according to the hours I worked. I think the salary they paid me was too low because I worked approximately 12, 13, sometimes 14 hours.” - said Fernanado
This makes leaving the garment industry a difficult decision when you are an experienced seamstress with no other skill set. To understand the scope of the problem, just consider how it is possible to buy a Forever 21 dress for $24.90 if workers were paid California’s $14 minimum wage? Compared to the $5 dollar average garment workers are currently making, Forever 21 would have to pay almost triple more for orders made by workers paid a minimum wage. This demonstrates how brands are cutting corners at the expense of their workers paycheck and their wellbeing for cheaper production of clothing.
HOW DO L.A BASED FACTORY OWNERS GET AWAY WITH THE EXPLOITATION OF GARMENT WORKERS?
Since fast fashion brands subcontract orders to small and medium sewing companies in L.A, garment workers are often employed in factories across the city. These sweatshops operate under tight contracts made by fashion brands that incentivize owners to exploit their workers. The goal for brands is to have large volumes of clothing completed as fast as possible at the lowest possible cost. A method used to have clothing made is the piece rate system. This is when workers are paid as low as 2-3 cents to sew a piece of clothing. Despite existing federal and state law stipulating employers can enforce this if it equals or goes beyond the minimum wage rate, garment workers barely earn on average $5 dollars per hour.
Source: (Angelica Quintero / Los Angeles Times)
The piece rate system really makes it impossible for garment workers to make minimum wage because employers DO NOT make up the difference. This creates an unjust system that thrives on wage and labor violations and wage theft where employers are rarely fined or cited. And sadly, when garment workers do manage to reach minimum wage, employers intentionally lower the piece rate to avoid paying them in full.
WHICH BRANDS ARE AT FAULT OF EXPLOITING L.A GARMENT WORKERS?
The brands that most frequently violate federal wage in L.A’s garment factories include Forever 21, Ross and TJ Maxx. The Garment Worker Center also identified Charlotte Russe, Windsor, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Burlington, Dillards, Beals, A’gaci, Fashion Nova, and Urban Outfitters as offenders. However, all fast fashion brands producing in L.A should be subject to scrutiny. It is typical for them to avoid responsibility for the working conditions and wage theft their garment workers experience. Brands simply pass the blame down the supply chain and explain they were not aware of their subcontractors actions.
Source: Garment Worker Center
WHY WON’T FAST FASHION BRANDS TAKE RESPONSIBILITY?
Brands don’t take responsibility because they don’t want to. They benefit from the exploitation of their garment workers to cut costs and to increase profit. Subcontracting allows them to blame garment factories while factories simply point back to the brand. This allows the garment industry to become a confusing place of finger pointing with no clear leader taking responsibility. If garment workers demand their rights and stolen wages to factory owners, they simply shut down. This is a tactic called “cutting and running” but these factories open back under a new name. To state it simply, fashion brands and garment factories do not care about their garment workers. This is why it’s important that garment workers know their rights, demand they are paid their stolen wages and build people power to pass legislation to be protected from the fashion industry.
Source: (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
IS THERE LEGISLATION PROTECTING L.A GARMENT WORKERS?
Legislation has failed to protect garment workers in Los Angeles. In 1995, it was discovered in El Monte, California that 72 laborers from Thailand were being held in slave-like conditions in a garment factory. State and federal authorities raided the site on August 2, 1995 and it was recognized as the first case of modern-day slavery in the U.S. Although this sparked anti-human trafficking activism and advocacy in the U.S, a couple years later the Multifiber Agreement expired, which destabilized the garment industry and effectively decentralized it. NAFTA then opened the floodgates on outsourcing, which weakened the power of organizing unions, bargaining power, and decreased the wage rate and benefits for garment workers. And with the dawn of fast fashion and ready to wear in the 21st century, caused by the era of industrialization, demand for sweatshops has increased.
Source: Garment Worker Center
The latest progress to protect garment workers was achieved was 21 years ago with the Assembly Bill 633. This landmark anti-sweatshop legislation guaranteed a minimum living wage and workplace protection for garment workers. However, it went unenforced by California’s labor agency. Since 1991, the Garment Worker Center (GWC) has been working to organize low-wage garment workers in Los Angeles to bring them justice. They tackle the inhumane working conditions, wage theft and abusive treatment garment workers endure.This is done by providing a community space to build people power and to empower workers to collectively organize to demand change in the fashion industry.
The Garment Worker Center is currently working towards the Garment Worker Protection Act, also known as SB1399. This bill aims to do the following:
eliminate the piece rate in the garment industry
expand fashion brands liability for unpaid wages
increase the enforcement authority of the state Bureau of Field Enforcement to implement the GWPA
reinforce worker testimonies around wage theft
HOW DO CONSUMERS CONTRIBUTE TO SWEATSHOPS IN L.A?
A typical Western consumer loves to shop until they drop and are social media obsessed. If you hop on to Instagram, you are flooded with celebrities and influencers wearing fast fashion. They flaunt their outfits and then dispose of them within weeks, or even days. This is called the Cinderella syndrome, which is wearing something once, posting it on Instagram and then getting rid of it. Instagram works well with fast fashion because content is meant to be produced and consumed at a rapid pace. There is no need for anything to last a long time. And as a consumer of social media, we scroll through these photos at a rapid pace and create the demand for a fast lifestyle. We provide validation by following and liking fast fashion brands, fast fashion influencers and by shopping their collections. This fuels the idea of buying disposable goods to stay relevant to friends and followers, which is also known as fear of missing out. It perpetuates an endless cycle of trends of new clothing with zero consideration of its social and environmental impact.
Source: Pexels
It is also important to note that most consumers are not aware of their effects from buying fast fashion. Unfortunately, information around fast fashion does require some digging and it can be unrealistic to expect consumers to take time to research information around clothing. This is because it is hard to know what the truth behind our clothes actually is. The stories behind our clothing have been deceptively hidden behind pretty marketing, complex supply chains and by strategic corporations that brush away the facts. And the only prominent gamechanger in the last few years has been the film The True Cost. It breaks down the fashion industry and explains the true cost of our clothing. This film is a key method for consumers to become educated on fast fashion and to help question their shopping decisions and lifestyle habits. Once consumers understand fast fashion and its complex issues, they are then empowered to realize their purchasing power and how to take action on this topic. There is a slim chance L.A garment workers will receive justice if no one knows what is happening to them.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP L.A GARMENT WORKERS?
Brands won’t change unless there is a demand for change. This is where fashion activism comes into play! Both garment workers AND consumers need to fight to see an ethical fashion industry. Garment workers do not want to continue working in horrible working conditions to make cheap clothes. This makes it so important to stay informed and engaged in the issues happening in the fashion industry. This will help spread information about the adverse effects around fast fashion to your friends and family. However, to systemically attack U.S’s fast fashion capital, legislation needs to be created and passed to protect garment workers. It would force brands to be held accountable and to bring about social and economic justice to the workers they have failed to protect.
Source: Garment Worker Center
Let’s hold brands accountable by passing SB 62, Garment Worker Protection Act. It would move California as the most sustainable fashion capital in the world. Sign the petition now to show your support and pressure the California legislators that change needs to happen.