American Apparel’s union workers protest bankruptcy

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Oct 11, 2015

On Wednesday, a group of American Apparel workers were seen protesting outside of the company’s headquarters in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The protest, which was led by the General Brotherhood of Workers of American Apparel, was made against CEO Paula Schneider’s decision to file for bankruptcy.
 

American Apparel filed for bankruptcy on Monday, October 7, which was the beginning phase of its restructuring plan that would give ownership to the Standard General hedge fund, the same company that took over RadioShack.
 
Under the plan, other hedge funds like Monarch Alternative Capital will provide $70 million of new capital over the next 6 months. Also, through liquidity from senior bondholders, the company will hire new talent to boost Internet sales.

American Apparel currently employs 8,500 employees, in which nearly half work in Los Angeles. The General Brotherhood organized over 2,800 employees to form a union to protest management’s unfair labor practices.