10/09 Press Conference for Car Wash Worker Campaign

Workers Owed Living Wage at Los Angeles Carwash

Workers At Wash with City Contract Currently Receive Less Than Minimum Wage

Carwash workers and their allies will gather at City Hall this Thursday to announce that workers at an LA carwash should legally be paid the City’s living wage, and are owed tens of thousands of dollars in back wages under the Living Wage Ordinance. Following the press conference and rally, carwash workers will submit a formal claim to the City’s Bureau of Contract Administration, responsible for enforcing the Living Wage Ordinance.

Following the passage of a City Council Resolution sponsored by Councilmember Ed Reyes that called for an investigation into City contracts with carwashes, it was discovered that Auto Spa Express should have been paying its workers according to L.A.’s Living Wage Ordinance since August of 2006.

Auto Spa Express, also known as Car Wash on Sunset, has been the target of pickets by carwash workers and the CLEAN coalition because of its treatment of workers, including paying less than minimum wage, dangerous working conditions, and management’s harassment of workers who seek to organize a union. Although the Living Wage is currently $11.25 an hour, many workers at Auto Spa Express have consistently been paid $50-60 a day for a ten-hour shift.

WHO: Current and former carwash workers from Auto Spa Express Madeline Janis, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) Danny Park, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA) Reverend Dave Farley, Echo Park United Methodist Church Silver Lake, Hollywood, Echo Park Metropolitan Alliance (SHEPMA) Dave Kins, United Steelworkers International Union

WHEN: Thursday, October 9th at 9:30am

WHERE: City Hall steps (1st St. side)

200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

WHY: Because Auto Spa Express has a contract with Los Angeles to wash city vehicles, the owners have a legal obligation to pay a living wage (currently $11.25/hr). Under the Living Wage Ordinance, businesses with contracts of over $25,000 in value and more than three months in duration must pay employees an annually adjusted “living wage” rate, as well as provide at least 12 days of paid sick leave and 10 of unpaid sick leave per year. The Ordinance also prohibits an employer from retaliating against employees for reporting non-compliance with the law and obligates employers to comply with federal laws prohibiting discrimination against employees who engage in union organizing.

PRESS ADVISORY FOR:  October 9, 2008

Contacts: Paul Lee, AFL-CIO, 818-519-1361