With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
Car Wash Graduates Brush Up On Labor Laws While Perfecting Their Craft
Rodrigo Hernandez finishes up a car after washing it outside of the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, in Los Angeles on July 21, 2022.
(
Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters
)
Twenty-two car wash workers graduated from the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center's detail program last week. Over the course of 10 weeks, the graduates learned the ins and outs of detailing a car, how to remove stains — and their rights as workers.
Fighting a prevailing wage theft problem
Los Angeles County has over 10,000 car wash workers, according to Flor Rodriguez, the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center's executive director. She said nearly all of the nonprofit's 1,800 members have experienced some form of wage theft.
Sponsored message
"Low-wage industries really prevail on wage theft," Rodriguez said. "And the fact that workers don't know about their rights makes it easier to be taken advantage of. So, part of our goal is to make sure that the workers feel seen, that they are heard and that they know how to go about it when their rights are being violated."
The people most susceptible to wage theft are often immigrants who have little education and are facing economic hardship. Last year, California workers filed nearly 19,000 claims worth more than $338 million in stolen wages, according to CalMatters. Locally, a Torrance car wash was fined more than $800,000 for wage theft in 2022. Rodriguez said the detail program is "a response to a need in the industry and in in our community."
The program's backstory
The CLEAN Carwash Worker Center's auto detail program runs twice a year in collaboration with UCLA's labor occupational safety and health program. It's led by car wash workers with decades of experience. Attendees learn how to polish by hand and with a machine, how to remove stains and gum from seats and the day-to-day of running a business and in between. Rodriguez said they also learn about workers' rights.
"They really want to change the industry from within, by using green products and following labor laws," she said. "[These] are the programs that really need to be seen and funded."
A new round of graduates is expected in October.
Sponsored message
Trending on LAist
-
The high-ranking federal housing appointee said they'd would be recommending that President Donald Trump “defund” Los Angeles, according to a county official. The federal housing agency has declined to comment so far. -
Following uproar from homeowners and local elected leaders, a state law allowing denser housing in single-family areas will no longer apply to the Pacific Palisades. -
Starting Aug. 1, a state rent control law will limit annual increases to 8%. The region’s ceiling on rent hikes has been 8.9% over the last year. -
Don’t fret, though — L.A.'s tarantulas are mostly harmless to humans and are only looking for love. -
The city may need to return up to $10 million in grants meant for cannabis businesses after a state audit found those funds may not have been spent as intended. -
Should Palisades and Altadena homeowners be able to build duplexes on their burned lots? Some state and local officials say no.
Best of LAist
