Report: Cleaning Up the Carwash Industry

 

Executive Summary

 

The thousands of workers who shampoo, wax, dry, and detail cars are some of the most exploited workers in Los Angeles. They frequently work in appalling conditions for low or, in many instances, no wages. Too often, carwash owners flout labor laws, health and safety regulations, and environmental protections in their single-minded drive for profits. Their practices put workers, customers, and even the general public at risk.

 

In 2002, California carwash owners reported $872 million in revenue, and Los Angeles County owners reported more than one-third of the state’s total revenue, or $251 million. Unfortunately, the prosperity of carwash owners has not translated into a decent living for carwash workers. Although the minimum wage in California is $8 per hour, many carwash owners pay their workers by the day at rates far below the legal minimum.

 

In addition to paying wages that are illegally low, Los Angeles carwash owners often deny their workers the most basic workplace rights and protections required by law. Analysis of case files of the California Occupational Health and Safety Administration (Cal/OSHA) reveal numerous citations of carwash owners in Los Angeles. Working at a carwash can be difficult and even dangerous, especially during the hot summer months when temperatures in Los Angeles approach 100 degrees. Workers are frequently forced to work without safety equipment, training on how to deal with hazards and chemical exposures in their workplaces, clean drinking water, breaks for rest and meals, minimum wages, overtime pay, health insurance, or respect and dignity on the job.

 

Professional carwashes can have an adverse impact on the environment if not properly managed. The Department of Public Works has cited Los Angeles carwash owners for violating environmental regulations, and carwash workers report that wastewater runoff, which can contain highly toxic chemicals, sometimes leaks into storm drains. Carwash owners who violate environmental laws are endangering our local rivers, oceans, and groundwater.

 

Right now in Los Angeles, some carwash owners are accumulating large profits by cheating workers and polluting our environment.  However, with industry-wide profit margins averaging 29% carwash owners can provide decent jobs and help to make our communities more environmentally freindly places.  Carwash workers throughout Los Angeles have formed the Carwash Workers Organizing Committe of the United Steelworkers (CWOC) to raise their standard of living, to secure basic workplace protections, and to address the serious environmental and safety hazards that exist in their industry.