Dear Green American,

Specialized, the cycling company, likes to position itself as a green company, but there is nothing green about the fact that workers who make Specialized clothing are being cheated out of wages.

On the outskirts of El Salvador’s capital, 842 former employees of the APS factory were able to sustain their families by producing goods for Specialized Bicycle Components until the factory abruptly closed down in August 2022. Two years have passed and Specialized has not paid the workers what they are owed for sewing Specialized gear.

Tell Specialized: Pay workers the wages they are owed

Worker rights is one of the core values in achieving a sustainable green economy. In fact, workplace fairness emerged as a top issue in shareholder resolutions in the growing $8.4 trillion USD in responsible investment.

Yet for the 35 million low-wage garment workers in the United States and around the world, wage theft is a prevalent experience. In the case of the APS factory workers, who produced apparel for Specialized and other major brands, they are owed a total $2.1 million USD.

Now, Specialized has a new CEO, Armin Landgraf, who has the opportunity to do the right thing and pay the APS workers the wages they are owed. But, he won’t do that unless he hears from thousands of consumers like you.

TAKE ACTION

Salvadoran law requires the employer to pay workers all unpaid wages and terminal benefits. Since APS has not paid the workers who lost their jobs, Specialized should take action to pay them what they are owed. Yet, two years have gone by and there Specialized has yet to pay the workers the money they are owed, including both wages and severance.

Specialized says “We promote human rights in our offices and distribution centers, in our supply chain and in our rider communities.”

We’re calling on Specialized’s new CEO to live up to the spirit of its company’s Code of Conduct by making sure that the violations that occurred at its supplier factory in El Salvador are fully remedied.