LOS ANGELES, April 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Clothing manufacturer American Apparel has been sued by workers
after an Easter week mass firing. The complaint filed on
April 16 by the fired employees of
the multi-million dollar fashion upstart charges that American
Apparel failed to comply with the WARN Act that prohibits surprise
mass firings by companies that have more than 100 employees.
American Apparel claims to have more than 10,000 workers.
The charges in the complaint describe a scenario where long time
employees were discharged without even a single full day's warning
and forced to sign releases without time to seek legal advice.
"I was told that I had to sign a release immediately or I would
not receive any severance at all," said Dominga Valencia, a fired long time worker. "I
stood there worried about how I would be able to feed my family
without the severance."
The actions described in the labor complaint stand in stark
contrast to the promise of a "sweat free workplace" touted by
American Apparel to its mostly urban fan base.
The clothing manufacturer has taken a cold tone to its American
workforce since being taken over by billionaire Wall St. Hedge fund
manager Standard General. Standard General recently took a major
stake in Radio Shack before the electronic retailer was led to
bankruptcy and began the firing thousands of American workers.
"American Apparel promised its workers and its customers that it
would be an ethical employer," said Nativo
Lopez of Hermandad Mexicana. "The only thing sweat free at
American Apparel is the way that management regards labor
law. Its Wall St. owners say 'we need to dump workers now' and
its management responds 'no sweat.'"
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SOURCE Hermandad Mexicana