American Apparel Expansion in LA

KPCC/NPR is reporting this morning that American Apparel has hired some 2500 workers to fulfill their growing business needs. They also stated that yesterday (Tuesday) Mayor Villaraigosa toured the facilities and praised them for keeping jobs here in LA. They played a soundbite from the mayor as well.While I couldn't find a link to the streaming audio, you can read the small related piece here:

KPCC "LA Mayor Villarigosa Praises LA-Based Clothing Manufacturer"

Suffice to say it was a good piece and I hope that other businesses are listening to this example.

Recently other bloggers had posted about American Apparel's expansion to the Eastern edges of the Arts District. American Apparel is a very vocal company which I recall May First they rallied their employees and were a huge presence for immigration reform. Most everyone in LA should be familiar with their "Legalize LA" campaign. It's not empty words. American Apparel seems to take good care of its employees with benefits and a decent wage.


Employees from American Apparel at the MayDay Rally on Broadway May 1st, 2008.

Another article I *did* find was regarding getting reliable & easy transportation for its employees:

American Apparel can't get a bus to match its needs By Steve Hymon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 9, 2008

"..This being Los Angeles -- City of Traffic and Angels -- there is no direct bus service to Union Station. Thus the reason for my visit.

Employees who want to reach Union Station by mass transit have to take a circuitous route that involves walking a few blocks to a bus that travels west into the heart of downtown, where they transfer to the subway. It's a journey that takes 31 minutes, not counting the initial walk to the bus, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority trip planner.

That's 31 minutes to travel 1.6 miles as the crow flies, which I compute to be 3.2 miles per hour. That's not slow. That's Stone Age."

You should definitely read the entire article. They are working w/ MTA. Currently DASH doesn't get quite close enough and in a city where the newest DASH route only got started last week, it seems it might be some more time before the next one.