Carwash Charged with Retaliating Against Workers for Speaking Out About Abuses

Coalition Announces Boycott of LA Carwashes

A little over a month ago, carwash workers and their supporters announced a campaign to clean up rampant labor violations and exploitation in the carwash industry. On May 7th a group of carwash workers announced that they have filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Vermont Hand Wash, a carwash owned by Benny Pirian, for retaliating against workers who spoke out about the abuses in their workplace. 

Pirian-owned carwashes have been cited in the past for violating minimum employment standards in California law. Two weeks ago, Mr. Pirian fired a worker after he spoke out publicly about the deplorable conditions faced by workers at Pirian-owned washes.

The unfair labor practice charges filed by the Carwash Workers Organizing Committee of the United Steelworkers (CWOC), include allegations that Vermont Hand Wash fired a worker for publicly speaking out about his unlawful working conditions and retaliated against other workers who  spoke out by cutting their hours and assigning them to less desirable work.

CWOC and a coalition of its supporters, the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, announced an official boycott of carwashes owned by Benny Pirian and family members in the city of Los Angeles: Hollywood Car Wash, Vermont Hand Wash, and Celebrity Car Wash. The boycott also includes several carwashes outside the city, specifically Five Star Car Wash in Northridge, Lawndale Car Wash in Lawndale, and Magic Wand Car Wash in Huntington Park.

"The boycott of Pirian-owned washes is targeting some of the industry's dirtiest carwashes," said Angelica Salas, a leader of CLEAN, the Community-Labor-Environmental-Action Network, adding, "The conditions these workers are subjected to is appalling.  These carwashes are nothing more than sweatshops, only they are not hidden from view.  Rather, they are right on our street corners.  We can no longer let this injustice stand.  This boycott will continue until these carwashes agree to clean up their act and stop retaliating against workers who are simply trying to improve their working conditions."

Jose Torres, a carwash worker at Pirian's Vermont Hand Wash, who was fired after speaking out about the deplorable conditions at Pirian carwashes and who has helped lead the efforts to organize with his co-workers, spoke about the retaliation. "I was fired for telling the truth about what goes on inside the carwash. I supported my three children and my mother with my job, so it was really difficult to take the risk of speaking publicly," said Torres.  "But I spoke out because my co-workers and I want to change things for all carwash workers. Nobody can live on $3 an hour, and the way we're being treated isn't right."

In addition to the retaliatory firing and violations of minimum employment standards, workers at Pirian-owned carwashes have been regularly subjected to health and safety hazards including exposure to hazardous substances without protective gear, such as gloves, masks, or boots.  The CLEAN Carwash Campaign has also uncovered cases in which a Pirian carwash allowed wastewater from carwash filtration systems to run into storm drains, which flow to beaches and groundwater in Los Angeles, in violation of local environmental regulations. 

In March, the CLEAN Carwash Campaign released a report documenting rampant violations of labor laws and disregard for environmental regulations in L.A.'s multi-million dollar car wash industry.

The CLEAN Coalition includes (partial list):AFL-CIO• Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) • American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU) • Bet Tzedek Legal Services • California Labor Federation • Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) • Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) • Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) • Institute of Popular Education of Southern California (IDEPSCA) • Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA) • Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) • Los Angeles County Federation of Labor • Los Angeles – Orange County Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO • Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) • National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) • National Immigration Law Center (NILC) • National Lawyers Guild • Pride At Work, AFL-CIO • Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA) • UCLA Labor Center • UNITE HERE Local 11 • USW (HQ, District 12, and Local 675) •  Wage Justice Center