21st Mar 2008
A Sad Day at the Car Wash
Car washes are ubiquitous in Southern California because of The Car Obsession, but look at the conditions that the workers deal with:
A Times investigation has found that hand carwashes, automotive beauty shops patronized by tens of thousands of Southern California motorists every day, often brazenly violate basic labor and immigration laws, with little risk of penalty.
Half or more of carwash owners flout the minimum-wage law, estimated David Dorame, the longtime lead investigator for low-wage industries at California’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
Despite many undocumented workers’ reluctance to complain to authorities, employees at a fifth of Southern California’s carwashes in the last five years have formally accused owners of illegally underpaying them, The Times found.
From Santa Monica to Westwood to Koreatown, many workers said they received only tips for some or all of their shifts. Labor division inspectors estimated that about 10% to 20% of car dryers are not paid by owners.
And why do people wash their cars… isn’t it kind of a waste of water.
I don’t know…periodically I’ll wash it in the driveway and stuff won’t come off (bugs, dirt, salt) and I know it’s been too long.
You remember it doesn’t rain much.
Perhaps waxing would help? http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/11/ups_shifts_to_d_1.php
We have a white car and if we don’t wash it, it looks gross. We wash it a few times a year. I’ve heard it’s bad for the paint, to let it stay dirty and grimy. You’d think with all the NW rain it would be unnecessary, but I honestly think it makes the dirt worse.