Carwash workers file complaint

Workers at an Echo Park carwash filed a complaint with the city Thursday, accusing the business of violating the living wage ordinance.

Labor leaders, who are more than a year into an effort to unionize carwash workers, said workers had seen city cars being washed at Auto Spa Express on Sunset Boulevard and wondered whether the ordinance would apply. City officials confirmed that the city has a three-year contract with the carwash and that payments exceeded $25,000 in 2006, triggering the living wage law, which requires that workers receive $11.25 an hour.

In the complaint, former worker Jose Eduardo Gonzalez said he was paid $56 per 10- to 12-hour day he worked -- an average of $5.09 an hour -- although his paycheck reflected seven hours at $8 an hour.

Auto Spa manager Alexandro Herrera said he pays workers the minimum wage.

-- Evelyn Larrubia