KOREATOWN : Janitors Claim They Are Owed $120,000
A workers’ advocacy group claims that a Koreatown-based cleaning company has failed to pay at least 16 subcontractors for janitorial work performed during the last two years, but an attorney representing the company says the region’s floundering economy is to blame.
The Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates claims that A-1 Building Maintenance Co. owes more than $120,000 in unpaid wages to janitors who bought cleaning contracts from the company.
A-1 originally purchased the contracts from building owners and then found subcontractors to do the work, a common practice in the industry.
The janitors “were given keys to clean buildings all over Los Angeles County but after a few months their pay slowed and then in some cases they wouldn’t receive anything at all,” said Paul Lee, a KIWA organizer.
Nam Min Cho, one of the subcontracting janitors, claims he is owed more than $30,000 for work completed between 1992 and 1993.
When the subcontractors complained to company president Jin Yang, they were told that the pay was delayed because of the company’s low cash flow, Lee said.
At least seven other janitors employed directly by A-1 also claim they are owed back wages, Lee said.
Thomas Bleau, an attorney representing Yang, said the subcontractors’ claims against the company were “unfounded.” He declined to discuss specific cases, but said that in general if payment problems arise it is because a building owner has not paid the contractor.
Bleau noted that several buildings that have had contracts with A-1 are suffering high vacancy rates and some businesses have closed down and have not paid their bills.
“A-1 Building Maintenance Co. has been victimized by a bad economy, and the subcontractors are blaming Mr. Yang for a bad economy,” Bleau said. “It’s a shame for these people but it’s also a shame for my client.
“If (A-1) doesn’t get paid, no one gets paid,” he said.
Lee disputed the company’s characterization of the problem: “They are trying to displace the burden of responsibility.”
Legal claims filed by some of the subcontractors have been tied up in court and few of the plaintiffs can afford the legal fees, Lee said.
