Ex-Clothes Maker Faces Charges in ‘Sweatshop’ Case

Calling it a “stereotypical sweatshop case,” the Los Angeles city attorney filed a 44-count criminal complaint Friday against a former Pacoima clothing manufacturer, accusing him of failing to pay minimum wages, issuing bad checks and violating sanitation codes.

Alberto Fuenzalida, 43, of San Fernando, who owned a now-defunct Pacoima garment-making business called International Sportswear, allegedly owes 38 employees $14,428 in wages from last December and January. Also, five checks he issued during that time were returned for insufficient funds, court documents state.

Fuenzalida is also accused of violating state labor codes that require employers to provide clean, working bathroom facilities.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on the misdemeanor charges Sept. 3 in Los Angeles Municipal Court. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of $1,000 in fines and six months in jail.

First Such Case in Valley

It is the first such sweatshop case filed against a clothing manufacturer in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn said.

“Unfortunately, it is a stereotypical sweatshop case,” said Deputy City Atty. Michael Guarino, who is handling the case. “You have an employer who is not paying minimum wage, keeping employees in the worst possible conditions.”

Jorge L. Gomez, deputy labor commissioner in the state’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, said the case is highly unusual because 28 complaints were originally filed by employees, many of whom are illegal aliens. Ten other employees later came forward.

“In most of our cases we usually get one or two complaints from workers,” Gomez said. “Here, we had 28 complaints filed at the same time.”

Gomez, whose unit investigated the case, described the Bradley Avenue factory conditions as far below an acceptable environment in the garment industry.

“Wages were not paid on time, the owner used bad language with employees, and there was lack of cleanliness in the bathroom and shop,” Gomez said. “We found an overall callousness on part of the employer.”

Agreement on Back Pay

According to court documents, Fuenzalida “acknowledged having issued bad checks, and agreed that outstanding wages were due to several employees.” On March 10, Fuenzalida reached agreement with labor investigators to pay $14,428.76 in back wages. But the money never materialized, the documents state.

After repeated attempts to contact Fuenzalida failed, labor investigators turned the case over to the city attorney.

Fuenzalida denied Friday that he owed 38 employees more than $14,000, saying instead that he owed “10 or 12 employees about $7,000.” Interviewed at a small storefront grocery store he owns in San Fernando, Fuenzalida also disputed accusations that the factory bathrooms were unsanitary.

“I don’t know why they would say the conditions were dirty. It’s not the truth, the conditions were good,” he said.

He said employees’ “sewing was bad,” and he could not sell all of the clothing to manufacturers.

“I didn’t have the money to pay them because they did bad work,” he said. “The smalls were like larges, the mediums were like smalls. Workers have a responsibility, too. They don’t understand. Where was I going to get the money to pay them?”

Fuenzalida said he was unable to secure a loan to make restitution to employees because of his cancer-stricken daughter’s outstanding medical bills.

Six former employees of Fuenzalida’s said in an interview that for two months they worked long hours, sometimes from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., sewing stacks of women’s shorts because they were told they could earn overtime.

Because of the approaching Christmas holidays, the employees said they welcomed the chance to earn more money. But the checks never came, they said. If they did, it was only partial payment, maybe $100 for a 60- to 70-hour week. Several checks bounced, the workers said.

Assurances on Pay

“At first we didn’t know what was happening. We thought we would get our pay,” said Elizabeth Rodriguez, 29, who claims in court records that she is owed $650.52. “He would come to us with a sad look and an honest face and promise to pay us the next week.”

When Carmina Barragan, who claims that she is owed $433.29, told Fuenzalida she was being treated unjustly, she said, “he told me to stop whining, that I would get my money if I would just go back to work.”

Barragan said the factory “was so dark inside, we were all sewing by the little lamp on top of the machine.” Also, she said the toilets did not flush properly, causing a “horrible smell,” and there was no sink in which to wash their hands.

Amalia Rojas said that after several weeks with only partial payment, she approached Fuenzalida in the hallway. “He pushed me,” Rojas said, “and told me that the money would be coming.”

Belongings Sold

Several employees said they were forced to sell personal belongings such as television sets and stereos to make ends meet and did not have money to buy enough food for their families.

“We are poor to begin with, only earning the minimum,” Barragan said. “Something like this really hurt us.”

At the urging of Becky Gaba, a church and community activist who is friends with several of the employees, the 28 workers filed a complaint with the state Department of Labor.

“At first they didn’t want to do it,” Gaba said. “They needed the money and kept thinking it would come. I kept telling them they had a right to their wages.”

On Jan. 13, Gaba said, after about two months of missed paychecks, the employees walked off the job and met at her house where she helped them fill out the complaints.

“We all talked and decided if we were united, maybe we would get our money,” Rodriguez said.