Garment and hospitality workers won key victories in the Downtown LA 2040 Community Plan at the LA City Council Planning and Land Use Committee (PLUM) hearing, where PLUM members voted unanimously to support workers’ recommendations.
City Hall was packed, including the overflow room, with members of the Garment Worker Center, which represents LA garment workers — 20,000 of whom work in the Fashion District, and UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents hospitality workers throughout the region. The workers were joined by other members of Protect LA’s Garment Jobs Coalition, such as sustainable fashion businesses that call the Fashion District home as well as family members of garment workers, CLUE, and the LA Worker Center Network.
Cris Lopez, garment worker, and GWC member told PLUM during public comment that “we are here because most of us have been working in this industry for over twenty years… behind us we have families, children, our grandchildren who will all be affected by this plan” due to threats of displacement.
“Without garment workers, there is no Fashion District,” said Lopez.
Garment workers have already successfully advocated for some of their recommendations to be included in the current draft of the plan, and the current draft of the plan that is heading to City Council is even more robust in its ability to preserve, protect, and incentivize the garment industry in Downtown LA.
“I urge you to PRESERVE, PROTECT and INCENTIVIZE the garment industry in LA,” testified Nayantara Banerjee, GWC’s Industry Researcher & Strategist, “which accounts for two-thirds of the state’s fashion sector, which directly generated over $11 billion in gross regional product in 2021.”
“The central hub for all of this economic activity, producing 83% of the nation’s cut and sew apparel sales,” she continued “is the Fashion District, where a deep network of small businesses employ this immigrant and women-led workforce who have on average 21 years of experience.”
The Protect LA’s Garment Jobs Coalition hosted a press conference yesterday morning on the steps of City Hall with UNITE HERE Local 11 in advance of the hearing where workers explained the significance of this plan to their communities.
“Today I come to you to inform you about the impact of the shortage of factories in downtown Los Angeles, because of the rent increase and the plan to displace factories in the Fashion District. This plan proposes to build hotels and luxury housing,” attested Francisco Mancilla, Fashion District garment worker and GWC member.
“I’ve been a housekeeper at the JW Marriott here in Downtown LA for the past 6 years,” said Bellen Valle, a member of UNITE HERE Local 11. “I stand in solidarity with my siblings in the garment industry as they fight to protect their jobs from luxury hotel development because no one should have to lose their job or their home here in Downtown LA. Hotel jobs should not come at the expense of garment jobs and affordable housing.” Local 11 is asking for a Class 3 Conditional Use Permit (CUP) restriction on hotel development.
A vote to rezone downtown Los Angeles will take place during an upcoming city council meeting by May 12.