Apparel Union Leader Sees California Presence

Bruce Raynor, an aggressive labor organizer who led a series of successful campaigns in the South over the last two decades, was named president of the New York-based garment workers union, UNITE, late Wednesday.

The change at the top of the 250,000-member Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees could signal a new era of activism in Southern California’s enormous garment industry, which is largely nonunion and has lost thousands of jobs to Mexico and other low-wage countries over the last decade.

“The West Coast is important and we’re going to be increasing our presence out there,” said Raynor, 51, who replaces retiring President Jay Mazur. “We’ve got a big commitment to California. There’s a strong labor movement there, but also a lot of workers who need the protection of a union.”

Raynor said UNITE will target growth areas such as apparel distribution rather than the traditional production jobs that are in steep decline. Raynor said many Los Angeles sewing jobs would disappear if targeted by a union campaign.

Although its membership grew nationally last year, UNITE’s presence remains small in California, with only 10,000 members. More than half work in commercial laundries, which are expanding as hospitals, hotels and others increasingly outsource laundry services.

UNITE has had two recent successes in Los Angeles, organizing an airline laundry and settling a strike over retirement packages with a bedding manufacturer.

Raynor, who has worked with apparel unions for 28 years and was most recently secretary-treasurer of UNITE, said the union plans a campaign this summer to highlight the hiring and contracting practices of large retailers. “You’ll see the union not afraid to take on employers we think are unfair, but at the same time, work closely with employers who do the right thing.”