Gov. Kicks Off Factory Sweeps
Surrounded by scores of workers making blue jean samples in Vernon, Calif., Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced July 29 that the state is mounting a major campaign to root out garment contractors not complying with state labor and tax laws.
Enforcement sweeps are being made in various cities in California to find apparel makers who are not paying their workers a fair wage, have not gotten their garment manufacturing licenses or are not paying workers’ compensation.
“Today I am proud to announce the launch of the California Economic and Employment Enforcement Coalition [EEEC], a new partnership to lead our efforts to shut down the underground economy, protect legitimate businesses and enforce the rights of California workers,” the governor said, standing at a podium set up in the middle of the sewing floor at Blue Cop Inc., owned by Blue Cult Inc. Blue Cop makes denim samples for the company’s Blue Cult, Sacred Blue and Blue 2 labels.
The coalition is a multi-agency force composed of the state Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Employment Development Department and the Contractors State License Board. The coalition will partner with the U.S. Department of Labor and other state and local entities to conduct investigations of apparel businesses as well as companies in other industies, including car washes, agricultural concerns and construction.
Gov. Schwarzenegger included $5.5 million in funding for the EEEC in the 2005-2006 state budget. The budget also provides funds for 62 new enforcement and audit professionals, who will investigate businesses operating in the underground economy, the governor’s office said.
The EEEC announcement was made almost 10 years to the day after the El Monte sweatshop raids, which exposed one of the worst labor abuses in Southern California’s recent history. On Aug. 2, 1995, state officials raided an apartment complex in El Monte, Calif., that had been converted into a sweatshop where 72 Thai immigrants were forced to sew garments seven days a week, 365 days a year. The workers labored as many as 18 hours a day in a two-story apartment compound surrounded by a high wall covered in razor wire and iron guardrails.
“The EEEC is going to clean up California businesses and labor abuses and make sure there is never again another El Monte nightmare,” Schwarzenegger said.
The Blue Cop factory was selected as the announcement site because it was cited last year for various state and federal labor and business violations. Blue Cop owed $181,971 in back overtime wages to 167 workers, had no contracting license and had incomplete wage statements, said Dean Fryer, a spokesperson for the state Department of Industrial Relations.
Since then, the company has paid part of its more than $100,000 in fines and gotten its business records in order. At the press conference, it was touted as a model for how a noncompliant operation could turn things around. “With the growing economy in California, it is important that companies like us stay on top of their game when it comes to complying with employment laws,” said Peyman Dadmehr, chief operating officer of Blue Cop.
Joe Rodriguez, the executive director of the Garment Contractors Association of Southern California, noted that his members are in compliance with regulations to pay minimum wage, overtime pay and workers’ compensation.
“Many that are not in my association could almost make a similar statement,” he said. “What does that leave us with? There are probably many bad apples that are noncompliant in major ways. And those are the ones I hope they concentrate on.”
Other industry leaders at the press conference were Lonnie Kane, president of the California Fashion Association and president of womenswear maker Karen Kane Inc.; Donna Dell, state labor commissioner; Victoria Bradshaw, state Labor and Workforce Development Agency secretary; Jose Millan, deputy secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency; and Rick Rice, undersecretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. —Deborah Belgum
