O.C. Garment Makers Cited in Major Raids

In their biggest-ever series of raids in Southern California’s garment-manufacturing industry, state and federal labor investigators have turned up dozens of violations at shops sewing clothing for major apparel brands--including Kathie Lee Gifford’s line of women’s wear.

The contractor for Gifford--the TV personality who was at the center of a recent sweatshop controversy--was a small Garden Grove shop called TLC Fashion. The contractor, who declined to comment about the raid, was cited for time card violations and for allegedly failing to pay a worker during a brief training period. The infractions, considered relatively minor, call for fines totaling just over $1,000.

But over the last three days, the 18 teams of state and federal investigators sweeping through alleged sweatshops in Orange and Los Angeles counties say they also have uncovered far more serious abuses. In one Los Angeles sewing shop, investigators say they found a 13-year-old working in violation of child labor laws.

Along with the Gifford line, another well-known manufacturer whose label turned up at an Orange County contractor cited in this week’s raids was Rampage Clothing Co.

The contractor, M.A. Fashion Inc. in Buena Park, was fined more than $3,000 in connection with a registration problem, a manager there confirmed. The firm declined to comment further. Sources said investigators are also looking into possible overtime violations.

Nancy Mamann, a spokeswoman for Rampage in Los Angeles, said Thursday that she was unfamiliar with M.A. Fashion. Mamann said the company viewed contractor violations as serious and would look into the matter.

Although comprehensive figures on this week’s raids were not available as of late Thursday, investigators said they also turned up serious health and safety violations. By definition, these violations pose a substantial risk of killing or seriously injuring a worker.

For example, at 19 of the 53 shops checked in Los Angeles County on Tuesday and Wednesday as well as some shops in Orange County, Cal-OSHA inspectors found serious electrical problems that could lead to fires or electrocution. State officials said Cal-OSHA fined TMC, another Garden Grove contractor, $3,250 for 15 violations, including an allegedly serious electrical problem. The company’s owner could not be reached.

In another Los Angeles case, they found a plant whose only exit was blocked, possibly preventing workers from escaping in the event of a fire.

Mark A. Carleson, deputy chief of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, expressed frustration at how widespread the violations remain, nearly four years into the joint state-federal campaign against sweatshops.

“It’s going to take some time,” he said. “Things don’t turn around overnight.”

Officials said they also found dozens of examples of contractors illegally paying workers in cash or providing less than the minimum wage. In addition, nearly 20% of the companies checked over the first two days of sweeps were not licensed with the state, and nearly half as many failed to buy workers’ compensation insurance for their employees.

Jose Millan, assistant California labor commissioner, said there were somewhat fewer-than-expected minimum wage violations, but found little cause for encouragement. Making substantial progress in the war against sweatshops, he said, will require “a long-term investment.”

For Gifford--who joined the government’s anti-sweatshop campaign this spring after her own clothing line was discovered being produced in Honduran sweatshops--this week’s revelations figured to bring fresh embarrassment.

Records showed that TLC Fashion, the Garden Grove shop found to be sewing her clothes, was cited in February by Cal-OSHA for several safety problems, including a serious violation involving the use of tagging guns, which officials say can transmit blood-borne pathogens.

Thanh Nguyen, TLC’s owner, said that his 11-employee shop has been in business for a year and that he recently got the assignment to sew Kathie Lee dresses. He declined further comment. Gifford, said to be aboard an airline jet, was unavailable.

But Gary Lewi, a spokesman for the TV personality, said she is currently developing a program to monitor the working conditions under which her garments are made.

Meanwhile, Lewi said, Gifford’s representatives will warn TLC and any intermediary firms involved in hiring TLC that “a second infraction would see them lose the right to manufacture any garment with [Gifford’s] name on it. I want to stress that the object is not to see people placed on unemployment, but to leverage these findings into an improvement in working conditions.”

The discovery of alleged problems at TLC, Lewi added, “is indicative of a systemic problem in the industry, and people are going to have to step up to the plate, like Miss Gifford, or they’re going to have to get out of the industry.”

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the retailer for which Gifford’s line of clothing is produced, also said it is looking into the TLC situation.

“We have a lot of questions,” company spokesman Dale Ingram said.