Here are a few key facts that you need to know about the Garment Worker Protection Act and why it’s time to pay our workers in California.
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Made in America isn’t always better. Much like the fight against climate change and protecting our environment involves stronger regulations, garment workers also need stronger government protection. Because some brands have a track record of cutting corners and forgoing responsibility when it comes to how they treat the environment and employees along their supply chain.
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Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, and Fashion Nova have recently come under fire for unsafe working conditions and withholding workers’ pay in their factories. In the U.S., California is a big employer of the fashion industry. There are more than 40,000 garment workers located in Los Angeles. Aware of these violations, California passed The Garment Worker Protection Act (Senate Bill 62) in 1999. At the time it protected workers from wage theft. But, if recent headlines made by fast fashion brands are any indication, there’s a need for the bill to be updated to allow measurable changes that will protect workers.
How Do Companies Get Around The Law?
When clothing manufacturers pay garment workers by the piece, they can get away with paying poverty wages. Assemblywoman Gonzalez, Principal Co-Author of SB 62
When the Garment Worker Protection Act was first passed, it was a landmark occasion that helped to put an end to wage theft. However, in the two decades that have passed, retailers and manufacturers have found ways to work around it.
According to the Garment Worker Center, workers are paid per piece that they make. In theory, the minimum wage is considered met because workers are able to make the minimum wage if they make enough items per hour. But, when rates per garment are as low as $0.03, making minimum wage is impossible with some workers earning little more than $5 per hour according to a UCLA study. Wages like this are not only well below the $ 15-hour minimum wage in California, but they are also not livable in a city that has a median apartment rent of $2483.
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Furthering this employment violation is the fact that garment workers state that rates per garment can change weekly without notice. Racing against the clock, the price-per-garment model also neglects to cover breaks, even if those breaks involve regularly washing hands during periods like the pandemic when personal hygiene is especially important. And, it goes without saying that health care, dental, and paid time off are ‘luxuries’ that many garment workers are forced to go without.
Who Makes Our Clothes?
With this law… I would not have to worry about wage theft. Every garment worker is an expert in her or his profession… We want to be respected equally. Santa Puac, Garment Worker & Campaign Leader
Imagine having a full-time job where you work 12-hour days only to walk with anywhere from $300 to $400 weekly. That’s still less than the legal minimum of $600 to $800 for a 40-hour work week. During that time you have to endure unsanitary work conditions where restrooms don’t have toilet paper. And, your wage is so low that you worry about where your next meal will come from or how you’ll be able to pay rent. This is an account given by a garment worker and leader in the labor movement about the conditions that many garment workers are forced to undergo without the corporations who hired them taking any responsibility.
One Solution For An Ethical Garment Industry in L.A
They deserve to be paid at least a minimum wage. We must hold fashion brands and clothing manufacturers responsible for abiding by the law. ~ Assemblywoman Gonzalez, Principal Co-Author of SB 62
Made in America should stand for fair wages and safe working conditions not corporations getting away with wage theft. But, in order for us to get there, stronger regulations are needed. Because, as society changes, so do our laws. It’s been more than two decades since the bill was passed. In order for it to truly do its job- protect garment workers- a new act must come into play. According to the Garment Worker Center, the bill needs to be updated to protect workers in three key areas: liability, enforced minimum wage, and health and safety.
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In order for the minimum wage to be enforced, the pay-per-piece model would be dismantled. This would make wages more transparent and easier for corporations to be held responsible for paying workers less than the minimum wage. This bill would also give the Labor Commissioner’s Bureau of Field Enforcement rights to investigate labor standards in manufacturing instead of allowing corporations to self-regulate.
How To Show Your Support
We have a duty as the 5th largest economy in the world, to protect our garment workers and send a message to other strong economies that we don’t exploit migrant workers because we can. ~ Maggie Q, founder of Qeep Up
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There is a reason why we as consumers should support ethical fashion brands. Brands that are audited by 3rd parties to ensure that fair and ethical labor standards are met should be the standard within the fashion industry. Brands that visit, audit, and work with small factories that focus on living wages and safe working conditions are worth spending our dollars on. Unfortunately, they are not. And, further action must be taken.
Want to take action and show your support for L.A garment workers? Sign the Garment Worker Protection Act to help hold corporations accountable. Even if you reside outside of California, you can still sign the bill and share the bill with your family and friends to stress the importance of fair labor laws being upheld throughout the U.S.