Catch Up: The State of Illegal Car Washes

Earlier this month, SoCal Connected on KCET aired this feature on car washes that underpay employees, among other inhumane violations. It's a good reminder about a long standing problem at a frequented service by thousands of Angelenos a day.

It's also a good time to look back at 2009 and what happened in the car wash movement. Here are some key successes:

• Attorney General Jerry Brown sues the former owners of a car wash in Echo Park
  
• Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs AB 236 into law, which renews the state’s “Carwash Worker Law,” extending it to 2014. It helps the state keep an eye on car washes.
  
• Former Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo files criminal charges against a family that owns the Hollywood Car Wash, Vermont Hand Wash, Celebrity Car Wash and Five Star Car Wash in Northridge. The 176-count filing alleges conspiracy, grand theft and brandishing a deadly weapon, among other offenses. A settlement was reached with workers at the Vermont Hand Wash in a different case that was filed.

The CLEAN Carwash Campaign is the major organizing force behind protecting workers.