Un-American Apparel

I couldn't pass up a headline like "Probe Fingers 1,800 American Apparel Workers", especially when owner Dov Charney has fingered so many employees, and he should get fingered himself...in a prison shower. A Federal probe has found that about a third of American Apparel's factory workers in the Los Angeles area had supplied suspect or invalid records and were not authorized to work in the United States. Oops.

The findings, from a January 2008 federal investigation, could deal a blow to the corporation's image as a proponent of immigration reform, but the company said the potential loss of those 1,800 workers would have no significant impact on its results. In a related story, 1,800 positions opened up at American Apparel. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, a.k.a ICE discovered at least 1,600 current employees at their factories appeared to have gained employment due to "suspect and not valid" eligibility documentation, the company said in a filing. The probe (can't use that word enough) also found that the employment eligibility of an additional 200 workers could not be verified due to "discrepancies". Being a garmento, I can translate - that means you have one too many John Smiths Juan Sanchezes employed under the same ID or SSI.

"The company believes that its current surplus levels of inventory and manufacturing capacity would mitigate the adverse impact of any disruption to its manufacturing activities that may potentially result from the loss of these employees," American Apparel said. Or, "Due to the economic downturn, we are happy to reduce our payroll by 1,800 people. Before they are deported for their illegal status work ineligibility, we made sure to underpay and overwork them, creating a hefty surplus of goods to sell at our usual profit margins."

The manufacturer of hipster garb, who is just as well known for their pornographic ad campaigns (the ones that, strangely, don't get them sued), added that ICE's notification provided no indication that the company knowingly or intentionally hired unauthorized aliens, and no criminal charges have been filed against the Company or any current employees.

American Apparel has made immigration reform a central theme of its corporate message and has called for the legalization of foreign workers, using "Legalize LA" as a slogan on billboards and T-shirts. Their Los Angeles operations, which employ some 4,500 workers, churn out some 230,000 garments per day in an environment in which workers are paid above minimum wage, enjoy subsidized health care and meals, and take part in free English classes. In the past, the company has let go of workers whose papers were proven false, and company executives say American Apparel diligently complies with the law, but have pointed out that papers can easily be faked. 1,800 times.