APS El Salvador

Workers from APS El Salvador

At the APS sewing factory in El Salvador, 831 former workers are fighting for $659,000 in unpaid terminal wages and benefits after their factory shut down in August 2022. Three Salvadoran unions – FEASIES, SGC, and SINDICOM – represented workers from the factory and are calling for international solidarity action in support of their members.

Factory management has refused to pay the workers the money that they are owed, even though Salvadoran law requires the employer to pay workers all unpaid wages and terminal benefits. In El Salvador, there is no government unemployment fund, and therefore severance is the only safety net available to workers while they look for new jobs and try to feed their families. The current economic situation in the country is precarious, with inflation at an all-time high and apparel brands reducing their orders for new clothes. Workers in the region report numerous layoffs and limited possibilities for finding new employment. 

At APS El Salvador, workers made clothes for brands like Specialized, a high-end biking company whose own Code of Conduct requires its suppliers to follow the law. However, Specialized has failed to even meet with APS factory workers, their unions, and international allies, and to pay the full amount still owed to the workers.

In September 2024, Specialized put out a statement announcing they would make a $44,000 “humanitarian donation” to the APS worker. But a follow up investigation by Escape Collective confirmed the Specialized never paid a penny to the workers owed $560k in stolen wages.

What the bicycle brand calls a “humanitarian donation”, we call an overdue admission of responsibility. It’s now time for Specialized to match its words with actions by paying the APS workers what they’re truly owed.

 

Cyclists and activists around the world are taking action in solidarity with APS El Salvador workers. Learn more about how you can join the fight for justice here.