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The CLEAN Carwash Campaign

CLEAN stands for Community-Labor-Environmental Action Network.  We are a diverse coalition of nonprofit organizations committed to improving the lives of working families in greater Los Angeles.  Carwash workers are some of the hardest working and most exploited workers in our city, often working for less than minimum wage and without basic protections required by the law.  The CLEAN Carwash Campaign is a joint effort of CLEAN and the Carwash Workers Organizing Committee (CWOC) of the United Steelworkers to raise carwash workers' standard of living, to secure basic workplace protections and to address the serious environmental and safety hazards in the Los Angeles carwash industry.

 

Together the CLEAN carwash campaign coalition will work to support carwash workers who are standing up for their rights, to improve health and safety protections for the 7,000-10,000 carwash workers in the greater Los Angeles area, and to help to keep our water and environment clean for LA communities.

 

CLEAN is committed to:

• Supporting the right of carwash workers to organize a union and bargain collectively.
• Improving working conditions and ensuring that carwash employers meet labor standards and abide by fair workplace practices.
• Demanding environmental clean up to ensure that wastewater from carwashes does not contaminate our rivers or oceans.

 

 

What are Conditions Like for Carwash Workers?

 

Carwashes routinely violate basic employment laws like those requiring workers be permitted to take rest breaks or have access to shade and clean drinking water.

• Workers frequently work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, often with no overtime pay.
• Workers are often paid less than the legal minimum wage, sometimes earning as little as $30-$40 per day ($3-$4/ hour) or working for tips alone.
• Carwash workers are subject to health and safety hazards such as constant exposure to water and to dangerous chemicals without protective gear.
• Workers in the industry have reported kidney damage, respiratory problems and nerve damage due to their exposure to these hazards.

 

 

How Do Carwashes Impact Our Community?

 

There has been very little oversight of carwashes by enforcement agencies historically, which has allowed carwash owners to disregard employment and environmental laws.

 

 

The Environment

 

According to the California Environmental Protection Agency, professional carwashes can have a negative impact on the environment if not properly managed.  Contaminants in carwash water, which may contain highly toxic chemicals such as ammonium bifluoride and hydrofluoric acid, can cause a variety of health effects, including kidney damage, increased cancer risk, and developmental delays.

It is clear that too many Los Angeles carwash owners disregard their legal and ethical responsibilities to protect our environment.

The Department of Public Works has issued numerous citations to LA carwashes for violating environmental regulations, and carwash workers report that wastewater runoff routinely leaks into storm drains.  These carwash owners are endangering our local rivers, oceans, and groundwater.