Jeremías,
one of the original
50 Apparel Apparel
employees, becomes
US
Citizen

The last few
weeks have meant
difficult decisions
and sadness at
American Apparel.
Compliance with
immigration laws has
resulted in the dismissal
of about 1,500 of
our permanent
employees due to
alleged
discrepancies in
their immigration
documentation. These
friends and family
members leave behind
not only their jobs
and wages, but the
safety and
opportunities that
exist at the
largest, most
efficient garment
factory in the
country. Even as we
adjust to this
difficult loss, the
events which
culminated in a
banquet hall
ceremony outside Los
Angeles this
Thursday leave us
hopeful. There,
Jeremías Pablo,
an employee of
American Apparel who
started as a
shirtsleeve sewer
more than 10 years
ago, was officially
sworn in as a
citizen of the
United States.

We’d like to briefly
share his story with
you to better
illustrate the
spectrum of
narratives
experienced by the
immigrants who work
in Los Angeles.

In 1994
Jeremías
immigrated to the
United States,
leaving Guatemala
for Miami, Florida.
He spent three years
there, working in
the fields. In 1997
he moved to Los
Angeles, where he
found work in the
unregulated garment
factories spread out
across the city.
These factories
would pay as little
as $10 per day for
shifts as long as 12
hours. In 1998, his
luck changed when he
found a job at a
small factory on
Olympic and Santa Fe
in Los Angeles,
underneath the 10
Freeway. It paid $9
per hour and he
worked as a
shirtsleeve sewer.

As it turned out,
Jeremías was
among the first 50
employees of what
would become
American Apparel. He
earned about $12 per
hour, at a time when
the company was
manufacturing
t-shirts for screen
printers and private
labels.
Jeremías stayed
on as American
Apparel’s reputation
for quality and good
fit spread and the
company grew. Under
the encouragement of
CEO Dov Charney and
his supervisors,
Jeremías took
night classes at an
adult school to
strengthen his
English and
communication
skills. He did not
know at the time how
valuable this
education would
become.

In early 2002, Marty
Bailey became the VP
of Operations at
American Apparel. He
moved quickly to
transition the
factory to a new
system of “team
manufacturing” where
groups of
professional sewing
operators work
together in teams to
complete garments
efficiently and to
minimize costly work
in process. Marty
noticed
Jeremías, whose
interest in these
changes prompted a
promotion to begin
training and
instructing other
sewers on the new
methods. Having
succeeded at his new
position and
regularly attended
night school classes
after long days of
sewing made
Jeremías the
perfect candidate to
work as a translator
inside the company.
Jeremías
learned the American
Apparel
manufacturing system
from top to bottom.
And he learned how
to train workers to
be a part of the
evolving system.

In 2005,
Jeremías was
promoted to become a
Sewing Manager,
essentially the
second-in-command of
a workforce
of 2,500 people,
or half of the
employees at the
American Apparel
factory
headquarters. In 11
years, Jeremías
ascended through
five positions at
American Apparel,
rising from a sleeve
sewer to a top
management spot at
which he continues
to excel.

On Thursday, October
8th in Montebello,
California,
Jeremías put a
cap on his inspiring
story – he became an
American citizen.
Surrounded by
family, friends and
co-workers, he put
an end to his
13-year application
process and traded
his green card for
United States
citizenship. He
story highlights a
number of important
issues surrounding
American Apparel,
including the
benefits of
promoting from
within, supporting
workers and helping
them become
successful, and most
essentially the
contradictions
inherent in current
immigration policy.
Or, as Jeremías
puts it:

“People that come
to American Apparel
like me, they find
the American dream
here. I had goals
but I never thought
I would one day
manage 2,500 people.
Opportunities opened
up to me here and I
took advantage of
that. Now, because
of their
documentation, other
workers don’t have
the opportunities
that I had.”

For many this week,
the American Apparel
factory represented
the loss of jobs in
response to an
irrational and
broken immigration
system. But for
Jeremías, it
represented his path
to fulfillment of
the American Dream.

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