By Edwin Flores —
NBC News
Garment workers in Southern California suffered widespread loss of wages and illegal wage practices in 2022 by manufacturers and contractors, according to a Labor Department report released Wednesday.
The federal government surveyed more than 50 contractors and manufacturers for its 2022 Southern California Garment Worker Survey and found that
80% of them were violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.
More than 50%
“illegally paid workers
some or all of their wages off the books, with
deliberately falsified or non-provided
payroll records ,” according to the report.
"Despite our efforts to hold employers accountable,
we continue to see individuals who make clothing sold by some of the nation's top retailers working in sweatshops
," Ruben Rosalez, administrator of the San Francisco Department of Labor, said in a statement.
“Many people who shop for clothing in stores and online probably don't know that the
Made in the USA
merchandise
they are buying was, in fact, made by people who earn far less than US law requires.”
Southern California is home to the largest apparel manufacturing center in the country.
In Los Angeles alone, more than 45,000 garment workers are employed among the more than 1,800 registered garment manufacturers and contractors clustered within or alongside the downtown Fashion District, according to the Garment Worker Center, a group local advocacy for the rights of low-wage workers.
The
majority of garment workers in Los Angeles are women from Mexico and Central America.
During the pandemic, when supply chains were disrupted, these workers were essential to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's LA Protects program, which produced millions of masks and protective gear for the public across the country.
In total, the city's garment sector is responsible for producing 83% of national sales of cut and sewn clothing.
In 32% of the cases studied by the Department of Labor, contractors paid piece-rate wages, a practice the state ended on January 1 of last year.
In one case, workers were paid as little as $1.58 per hour.
Contractors and manufacturers included in the study produce apparel for sale in stores that include national fashion retailers such as Nordstrom, Bombshell Sportswear, Von Maur, Lulus, Socialite, Neiman Marcus, Stitch Fix, and Dillard's.