Specialized being pursued for $659,000 owed to Salvadoran workers in unpaid wages, investigation reveals

Leading bicycle manufacturer Specialized is reportedly being pursued  for $659,000 in unpaid wages owed to Salvadoran workers $659,000.

A 2024 investigation by the Worker Rights Consortium has found that 831 workers who lost their jobs after an APS garment factory in El Salvador closed in August 2022 were denied their wages and severance benefits, which is against Salvadoran law.

In fact, according to the Worker Rights Consortium, Salvadoran law required that the workers be compensated for 28 days of unpaid wages and 50% of their severance pay by December 13, 2022, with the contingent that APS would secure a buyer for the factory.

APS did not secure a buyer in time, and as a result, the factory's unionized workers filed a lawsuit against the factory for their full unpaid wages and severance pay.

One of the companies the workers produced garments for was Specialized. The other three companies are Gildan Activewear, Kellwood Company, and Hanes brands. 

Gildan Activewear and Kellwood Company recently returned to talks with the workers and agreed to pay them two-thirds of the total wages and severance owed to them, a payment of 1.34 million dollars, according to the investigation. 

According to the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), neither Hanes nor Specialized have assumed any responsibility in paying the workers their remaining owed third of the wages and severance pay.

Salvadoran unions continue to press Hanes and Specialized to contribute to the final third of wages and severance pay owed to the workers. Green America, a member of the CCC, has also jumped on the push, encouraging American consumers to pressure Specialized with a petition and email campaign, which has already received 10,000 signatures and the support of 30 organizations. 

Still, the CCC claims that Specialized has been "entirely unresponsive to all efforts made from labor rights group to discuss the case with them," and has even blocked the email domains of several CCC organizations that have attempted to contact the company on behalf of the Salvadoran workers. 

The Workers Rights Consortium investigation corroborates this unresponsiveness, stating: "With respect to Specialized, since the APS factory closed, both the WRC and APS workers' representatives have written to its executives on multiple occasions seeking the company's assistance in addressing the nonpayment of legally due compensation to the employees. Specialized has never responded to these communications."

In talking to Cycling Weekly, Specialized denies these claims, stating it has been in 'constant communication.'

"Specialized takes its commitment to responsible manufacturing very seriously. We have been in constant communication with our supplier that utilized this El Salvador factory in the past and have clearly communicated our expectation that the workers' claims be handled and resolved appropriately," Specialized spokeswoman Kelly Henningsen told Cycling Weekly. "While we are not privy to the details of the ongoing legal process involving the workers and the factory, we have been monitoring and will continue to monitor the matter in close cooperation with our supplier and are looking forward to a resolution through the local process and in accordance with our expectation."

This is an ongoing story. In the meantime, Specialized has created a webpage dedicated to their commitment to responsible manufacturing, which can be viewed here.