American Apparel says it will lose 1,500 workers over immigration dispute

[pampango]

Source: LA Times

"Clothing company American Apparel Inc. said Thursday it is terminating about 1,500 employees at its Los Angeles operations after a government investigation into workers' immigration status.

The federal government has recently shifted its attention in immigration probes to make employers the primary target of immigration raids. In July, Homeland Security released a list of 652 businesses nationwide that will receive audits of their work force."

"American Apparel's founder, Dov Charney, has been an outspoken opponent of U.S. immigration policies. In a letter to employees, Charney said he was "deeply saddened by the fact that many of you will be leaving the company over the next few days and weeks. Many of you have been with me for so many years, and I just cry when I think that so many people will be leaving the company.""

"The company previously said it was not found to have willingly hired illegal workers. American Apparel has touted its "sweatshop-free" operation and said it pays some of the highest wages in the industry."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-american-apparel-immigration,0,4268299.story

[mamaleah]

1. The only thing that Charney is "deeply saddened" over is losing cheap labor.

I'd cry for him but I am all out of sympathy for business owners who deny jobs to US citizens in favor of cheap illegal labor.

[pampango]

4. ""sweatshop-free" operation and said it pays some of the highest wages in the industry"

Unless you know more about this, it sounds like the pay and working conditions were pretty good and the same as the 85% of company's employees who were legal.

[Critters2]

12. American Apparel sponsored pro-immigration reform rallies,

and encouraged workers to attend. They knew full well they were employing undocumented workers, and wanted the laws changed to allow them to continue to have access to cheap labor.

[pampango]

14. Apparently the government doesn't agree that "They knew full well they were employing

undocumented workers". Besides immigration reform would probably legalize any undocumented workers that the company employed, which wouldn't make it easier for to exploit those employees.

"Peter Schey, an attorney working with the company on the audit, said the results showed no wrongdoing by American Apparel. He said the government initially said it intended to impose a fine, but withdrew after correspondence with the company."

[bkkyosemite]

2. So citizen's what will they get paid if they apply.

[greengestalt]

3. End false economies

Tariff laws were there for a reason. And the reason was not to protect lazy employees or greedy business. They were to protect honest hard workers and smart businesses from being undercut by "Cheap Foreign Knock-Offs". There was still room for the "Expensive foreign high-end products our factories try to emulate" and things American companies didn't feel like working on, like the VCR.


The real thing that should get people rioting and this argument does hold sway with "Right Wingers" is that despite the "Death Camp wages" and rat poison as filler for Fido's dog food and Lead and Date rape chemical "Fillers" for children's toys, it costs MORE to make stuff overseas. The cost of fuel alone makes up the price, and the police chief's third cousin demanding bribes, the same 'subcontractor' using the same equipment to make 'knock-offs', piracy, violence, make it more expensive. But these outsourcing companies get "Tax Breaks and Subsidies" to move overseas. For a reality check, just look how produce grown 1000 miles away and flown here can cost 1/2 what local farmer could sell them for.


Its "Kosher as Ham on Rye". It is a "False Economy", not a "Free Market". A small business can't compete with a big one that can bleed taxpayer money and sell at a loss in a hundred small towns for decades. A farmer can't compete with tax subsidized illegal (in this country) pesticide grown crops.

[madrchsod]

5. i liked the bees on full screen....

say yes is funny and onwards did`t load up well. nice work....

[badgervan]

8. Makes Sense....

... which means that very few Americans will understand it, much less agree with it. The absolute stupidity of too many of our fellow citizens these days just depresses the hell out of me. The people who would gain the most from Dem programs fight 'em the hardest. Somehow, the MSMedia has to be shamed into doing a responsible job again; being the conscience and the voice of the people and separating the facts from the lies. Whatever happened to calling an obvious lie a lie?

[JeanGrey]

6. GOOD. LET THEM HIRE AMERICANS OR

LEGAL IMMIGRANTS. We need more of this!

[bluesmail]

7. Finally got the big enchilada. Now go get (y'all know who).

The Torture Team. :evilfrown: This sends a message to one and all of The Torture Team. :thumbsup:

[treestar]

9. He'll just open up in China

[Frank Booth]

10. No. Sweatshop free, made in America is American Apparel's whole business model.

The guy who runs it is as greedy as the rest of them, but he figured out that marketing American-made clothing in a hip way would allow him to sell regular t-shirts for 20 bucks a pop.

[Critters2]

11. American made doesn't equal sweatshop free.

He was obviously underpaying illegal workers. Sounds like a sweatshop to me.

[Frank Booth]

13. No, seriously, it's got a good reputation for treating its workers fairly. I know someone very

well who worked in sweatshops in L.A. for years, and the conditions she worked in were much, much worse than those of American Apparel.

Again, I don't think the guy who runs it is a great guy, but compared to the rest of the industry his workers are treated well.

[CBHagman]

15. A couple more quotations from the article.

http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-american-apparel-immigration,0,4268299.story

He added that when workers are able to "get (their) immigration papers in order" they will be given priority treatment for future positions in the company.

(SNIP)

Schey said audits often lead to employee dismissals in companies that hire from large urban areas with sizable immigrant populations.

"This is pretty standard with companies when they get I-9 audits," said Schey, who is also president of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. He added that he suspects workers unable to provide documentation to American Apparel would probably seek work in sweatshops.

The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, of which Peter Schey is executive director:

http://centerforhumanrights.org/

http://centerforhumanrights.org/SupportAndTraining/

Our present work focuses on the following:

1. Federal court litigation, legislative advocacy, and training aimed at regularizing the status of 500,000 amnesty-eligible immigrants who were illegally excluded from the 1987-88 amnesty program.
2. Federal court litigation regarding the treatment of unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children.
3. Monitoring a nationwide settlement with the INS involving the conditions under which minors are detained and released by the INS, including monitoring of the final settlement and training of advocates regarding the terms of the settlement.
4. Protecting the rights of immigrants and refugees in need of public social, health and education services.
5. The rights of victims of particularly severe forms of human trafficking.
6. Monitoring and evaluating the treatment of non-citizens of Middle Eastern origin in the wake of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.