Spirits Sink as Swimsuit Factory Closes
It was like the breakup of a family.
Men and women held on to each other and wept. Longtime employees couldn’t bear to say goodbye.
Holly Bra, a swimsuit factory that had been in Hollywood since 1949, has shuttered its doors for good, the latest apparent victim of the cutthroat competition facing the U.S. garment industry.
For the 150 stranded workers--most of them immigrants who speak only Spanish--the demise of Holly Bra was even more shocking because the company had recently been in a celebratory mood. Four workers--Rutilia Lopez, David Lopez, Fidel Elizarraraz and Enrique Lool--were hailed as heroes after they saved another colleague from a knife-wielding man, who turned out to be the suspect in the Oceanside slaying of a 9-year-old boy.
But one day last week the usual buzz of bobbing needles and snipping scissors stilled as a company supervisor broke the news through a loudspeaker. Sure, workers said later, vacation was cut last year and there were rumors about layoffs, but they never imagined that the entire factory would shut down without notice or severance pay.
(A federal law requires companies to give workers in factories of 100 employees or more two months’ advance notice of a plant closing, or to pay them two months’ wages in damages. However, the law exempts companies that fall victim to unforeseen business losses.)
Some employees left at the end of the day and never came back. Others stuck around a few more days to finish some swimsuits.
“Everyone was crying. It took everyone by surprise,” said Carlos Soto, who works for a vinyl wholesaler next door to Holly Bra and says he has many friends who worked there. “All of a sudden: poom! The company just closed.”
The firm’s demise also saddened others in the industry. Susan Crank, president and chief executive of Lunada Bay, a swimwear manufacturer for brands such as Mossimo and XOXO, has known Holly Bra’s owner, David Young, for 12 years. Her company gave $1,000 awards to each of the four Holly Bra employee-heroes.
“David was the kind of employer who always took care of his employees,” she said.
Some industry observers believe that such concern may have contributed to Holly Bra’s demise. They described it as the kind of factory that was exemplary in abiding by labor laws--and as a result was being outgunned by sweatshops.
“The good guys are under increasing pressure,” said Joe Rodriguez, executive director of the Garment Contractors Assn. of Southern California.
Since passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement a few years ago, clothing companies have been moving more of their manufacturing operations south of the border, where they pay only a fraction of U.S. wages. “Those of us in the domestic market are scrambling,” Rodriguez said.
Young could not be reached for comment Thursday. But several ex-workers praised him even as they mourned the company’s closure.
“He was a good person,” said Mary Trejo, who worked at Holly Bra for 22 years. “He knew a lot of people by their names. He’d go through the factory, hugging people, giving people a kiss on the cheek.”
The four co-workers who saved their colleague’s life said Young gave them paid time off to attend ceremonies honoring them. Employees who had been there more than 20 years said they had up to three weeks of annual paid vacation.
Still, the abrupt shutdown angered some.
“I worked there for 27 years. They don’t give me nothing,” said Maria Aguinaga.
Ex-employees Rutilia Lopez and her friend Raquel Rodriguez found new jobs immediately. Both are now sewing swimwear for minimum wage at another factory.
A few plan to use this opportunity to switch professions. Lool, for one, is hoping to start his own gardening business.
Older employees seem to be having an especially tough time, former co-workers say.
“I’m very sad,” said Hazel Smith, Holly Bra’s plant manager and a veteran of more than 30 years, her voice breaking. “I’m 68 years old, honey, and I’m retired now.”
Added another Holly Bra veteran who has been poring through classified ads: “It’s a new world out there. We’re competing with young kids who learned computers at school. It’s not going to be easy.”
