Victory for LA Carwash Workers in Cal/OSHA Appeals Case

Vermont hand wash and hollywood car wash withdraw CAL/OSHA citations appeal, pay $20,000.

At a Cal/OSHA Appeals Board hearing on Tuesday, Benny and Nisan Pirian, the operators of Vermont Car Wash and Hollywood Car Wash agreed to pay Cal/OSHA $20,000 in fines to settle citations Cal/OSHA issued against both carwashes for health and safety violations. Carwash workers were represented at the hearing by the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, a coalition supporting the efforts of workers to improve conditions in the industry and to form a union.

The agreement at the hearing comes on the heels of harsh public criticism of the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board for compromising worker safety by steeply reducing fines for employers - in one case fining a contractor involved in a worker's death only $250. The Appeals Board is separate from Cal/OSHA's inspection division, which must defend its citation before the Board.

Hollywood Car Wash and Vermont Hand Wash were charged in a complaint by the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health with a total of ten violations at the two washes, six of them classified as "serious," meaning death or serious physical harm could result. 

The carwash operators agreed to withdraw their appeal of all of the citations, and, at the urging of the workers and the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, agreed to hire a health and safety consultant to implement a training program for workers regarding the hazardous chemicals to which they are exposed at Vermont and Hollywood Carwashes. The provision for an outside training program is another example of the campaign's innovative efforts to help workers advocate for improvements in their working conditions.

According to Henry Huerta, CLEAN Carwash Campaign director, "The CLEAN Carwash Campaign is making strong efforts to educate workers on how to identify and avoid exposure to dangerous chemicals." Safety experts have warned that workers in the carwash industry are regularly exposed to toxic chemicals known by the state to cause cancer.

"We applaud Cal/OSHA for their defense of these citations. There are many other carwash operators in the LA area with similar safety problems and we hope that Cal/OSHA will take strong action against those as well," added Huerta.

Worksafe, a member of the CLEAN coalition, assisted workers in filing the Cal/OSHA complaint that triggered the agency's inspection and citations. Frances Schreiberg, an attorney at Kazan, McCLain Lyons Greenberg and Harley, provided pro-bono assistance in helping defend the citations in the Appeals Board process.

As part of the CLEAN Carwash Campaign's efforts, workers organizing with the Carwash Workers Organizing Committee (CWOC) of the United Steelworkers, called for a boycott of six carwashes operated by the Pirian family last May, alleging that Pirian family-owned carwashes have a history of serious health and safety, employment, and environmental violations. Celebrity Car Wash and Five Star Car Wash, also owned by the Pirian family, have received numerous citations from Cal/OSHA for putting workers in danger with unsafe conditions.

Pirian family-owned carwashes have faced recent charges from other public agencies as well. In February, the Los Angeles City Attorney filed criminal charges against Nisan and Benny Pirian, four Pirian family-owned carwashes, and Vermont Hand Wash manager Manuel Reyes for, among other crimes, wage theft, witness intimidation, and brandishing a deadly weapon against workers.  In November, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against Vermont Hand Wash for committing a myriad unfair labor practices while workers there are organizing to form a union.