Of Neighbors and Fences : Officials, Industry Express Anger Over El Monte Case

Apparel manufacturers that bought garments produced by Thai nationals who labored in debt servitude will be liable for millions of dollars in back wages owed those workers, as well as stiff fines, California Labor Commissioner Victoria Bradshaw said Friday.

The alleged garment sweatshop in El Monte raided this week was not registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations. Under state law, apparel manufacturers are legally liable for violations by their contractors if the contractors are unregistered, Bradshaw said.

The question of who was buying the garment piecework turned out by the immigrants had contractors and clothing retailers alike scrambling to express outrage and distance themselves from the tales of unseemly conditions.

There are thousands of subcontractors in Southern California, as many as half of them illegal, that produce pieces of clothing for other subcontractors, authorities say. The items are ultimately assembled into complete garments by business people who sell them to retailers across the country.

Bill Dombrowski, president of the California Retailers Assn., said his members plan to help state investigators by combing the network of suppliers for labor violators.

“This is horrible and mind-numbing,” Dombrowski said of the charges against the El Monte operation. “If any of our members discover they are doing business with violators, we will try to put those contractors out of business.”

Joseph Rodriguez, executive director of the Garment Contractors Assn. of Southern California, called the case “a horrible shame and a black eye. . . . Many in our industry are fighting to end sweatshops. These illegal operations create an unfair source of competition for our members. The retailers and the manufacturers that use these suppliers should be ashamed of themselves.”

However, the National Labor Committee, a union coalition that investigates and reports on labor abuse, said the practices of retailers and manufacturers to buy products are what make exploitative operations possible.

“This shows that retailers and manufacturers cannot be trusted,” said Charles Kernaghan, director of the committee. “This is all tied to the increasing use of exploited labor abroad. Companies threaten to ship their work abroad if workers don’t toe the line.”

Investigators found many familiar clothing labels at the El Monte site. However, authorities do not yet know if the labels might be counterfeit. There were, for example, labels for the Impact line of clothing sold at Wal-Mart stores.

Wal-Mart said it is trying to determine whether any of its clothing was supplied by the El Monte operators.

“This kind of incident is not tolerated by Wal-Mart. We are investigating, and we’ll get to the bottom of this,” company spokesman Les Copeland said.

State and federal agents on Wednesday raided and closed the alleged garment factory in a converted El Monte apartment complex, where about 70 Thai nationals were said to have lived and worked against their will, some of them for several years. The alleged victims said they were detained at the complex behind barbed wire, working night and day for less than $2 an hour.

Bradshaw said apparel companies that bought merchandise from the operation are legally liable for wage violations and will have to help cover the cost of more than $3 million in back pay due the workers. She said the operators of the facility will also be liable for back pay.

Eight people suspected in the case were arraigned Thursday on charges of harboring and transporting illegal aliens and are being held without bail.

Meanwhile, some of the Thai women who allegedly worked at the complex met Friday with the Thai consul general and members of community groups interested in their welfare. Federal prosecutors said none of the 72 who were held at the El Monte compound would be deported for the time being.

The women were brought Downtown from an Immigration and Naturalization Service detention center on Terminal Island to speak with officials. They were returned to the center later Friday.

Thai Consul General Suphot Dhirakaosal spoke with the women in Thai, at first drawing laughter. Then some began to weep, dabbing at their eyes with tissues. After making what appeared to be reassurances, he gathered the women around him for a group photograph.

Afterward, Dhirakaosal said his government would cooperate fully with federal investigators in “eliminating the ring organizers, if any, in Thailand” responsible for bringing the people here illegally, and he promised to look after their interests.

Donald B. Looney, the deputy director of the INS western regional office, said illegal immigrants who are potential witnesses in a criminal case are typically held until the case is resolved.

On occasion, immigrants may be released on bond, though no such decision has been made in this case. Some of the women may eventually be deported. State officials now estimate they are owed $3 million in back pay, roughly $41,000 apiece.