American Apparel employees protest salary cuts and layoffs

By

Dani Greene

Published
Feb 29, 2016

Even after emerging from bankruptcy earlier this month, American Apparel faces continued challenges. On Friday, employees at two California-based American Apparel factories halted production at 9 am in protest of a new work rule resulting in lower pay and layoffs from factory closures.

 
At the downtown Los Angeles factory, hundreds of employees briefly stopped working, while 50 workers protested at the South Gate, California factory. The protest escalated when some protestors were suspended for speaking out against American Apparel.
 
Stephanie Padilha with the Brotherhood of Workers of American Apparel said about the protest: "They are laying off workers, cutting out their hours, their pay and their rights, and now they can no longer afford living."

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Spokesperson for American Apparel Arielle Patrick issued a statement, which read: "American Apparel as a company and its leadership team believe in the right to free speech for all, especially our employees. In particular, American Apparel believes in its employees' own right to choose whether or not they wish to be represented by a union."