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GUESTS: Nelson Motto, organizer and Joaquin Calderon, community outreach coordinator at the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, Jose Torres, and Pedro Guzman, car wash workers

Earlier this month, the Carwash Workers Organizing Committee announced a boycott against carwash establishments owned by the Pirian family. The actions target six locations in and around Los Angeles and are in response to what organizers call wage violations and poor working conditions. Jose Torres, a former employee of the Pirian-owned Vermont Hand Wash, joined in the boycott effort after being fired in a retaliatory manner by the company. In a recent press conference, Torres claimed Vermont Hand Wash fired him after he spoke out in public about deplorable working conditions. After three years of employment, Torres said he was paid at most $40 dollars for a 10 hour workday. An investigative report by the Los Angeles Times in March found that the experiences of carwash workers like Jose Torres are common, and that labor laws are routinely violated at a majority of southland carwashes with some workers earning as little as $1.63 per hour. A report by the CLEAN Carwash Campaign found that Pirian-owned carwashes also violated local environmental regulations and subjected workers to hazardous conditions.

The car wash establishments under boycott include: Vermont Car Wash on the corner of Hollywood and Vermont, Hollywood Carwash on the corner of Sunset and Centro, and Celebrity Carwash, at 901 S. Vineland.

For more information, visit www.cleancarwashla.org.org.