A group of laborers who work at carwashes in Los Angeles have the city's leading religious figure and top politician on their side in an effort to form a union.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Cardinal Roger Mahony — who leads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles — recently endorsed the organizing drive during a gathering of representatives of various unions, immigrant-rights groups, and community activists at City Hall.
The goal of the drive is to ensure that owners of carwashes pay at least the minimum wage and observe other employment standards, such as regular lunch breaks and overtime rates for workers who log more than 40 hours a week on job.
The owners of some carwashes have been known to pay less than the minimum wage. California Attorney General Jerry Brown — a likely candidate for governor later this year — has launched a statewide crackdown on the owners of carwashes. Brown recently filed suit against the former owners of Auto Spa Express in the Echo Park district northwest of Downtown, claiming violations of wage laws, among others.
The organizing drive throughout the city comes under the umbrella of the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, a coalition of unions, immigrant rights groups, and community organizations.
"There has to be an effort by the community and by unions to protect these workers through a collective bargaining agreement," said Henry Huerta, a representative of the effort.
Many of the workers at local carwashes are illegal immigrants — a segment of the population that has been hit particularly hard by the economic recession.
Huerta said the goal of the organizing drive stands on principles that go beyond immigration status.
"Their [immigration] status is not our issue," Huerta said. "We believe they're workers, protected by every state and federal law regarding wage and hours, and we're going to fight to make sure that they are covered."
Villaraigosa compared allegations about underpayments of wages to a call for comprehensive immigration reform.
"We know part of what's going in this industry and other industries is the result of people being allowed to stay in the dark and not come into the light," the mayor said.
Mahony kept his focus on the teachings of his church.
"We are really asking carwash owners to be alert to the dignity of these people," he said.
Sam Hassan is a writer for the L.A. Garment & Citizen.
Photo of Cardinal Roger Mahony from Wikimedia Commons; photo of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa from the mayor's photostream on flickr.com.
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