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An analysis of garment manufacturing in the Los Angeles area

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An analysis of garment manufacturing in the Los Angeles area

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Content AN ANALYSIS'OP GARMENT MANUFACTURING IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the School of Commerce The University of Southern California In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Business Administration by Edward B. Lassiter January 1953 U M I N um ber: EP43365 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, th ese will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. U M T Dissertation Publishing UMI EP43365 Published by ProQ uest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQ uest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United S tates Code ProQuest LLC. 789 E ast Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Proj^uest* C-om - M/3^ ^ 1 —3^7 J'Aij thesis, written hy ..........Edfflaiad-.B*..Lassiter........... under the guidance of his..— Faculty Committee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Council on Graduate Study and Research in partial fullfill- ment of the requirements for the degree of Mas.ter..Qf..Busxness..Admini5irsiic)ri.... D ate.. ApFil.2.6*..19!?3...... Faculty Com m ittee J b - .... Chairman TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE PROBLEM AND STRUCTURE OF THE LOS ANGELES INDUSTRY ......................... 1 The problem.............................. 1 Statement of the problem ............... 1 Historical examination ................. 2 Structure of the Los Angeles Industry . . 8 Diversity of product ................... 8 Decentralization ........ 9 Location............................... 12 Competition in the local market .... 13 II. NATURE OF THE LOS ANGELES MARKET........... 17 Fashion market ............... ..... 17 Predominantly local distribution .... 18 Medium and higher priced products features ............................ 23 III. L A B O R .............................. 25 Division of garment fabrication into processes............................ 25 General working conditions ............. Al General advantages and disadvantages of work.................................. A3 Comparative employment levels ........ A3 lv CHAPTER PAGE Wages and h o u r s ................. 45 Fluctuations In labor demand, or season ality of employment........... 54 The Unions— broad policy......... 57 The local Union scene ............... 66 IV. MANAGEMENT............................ 77 Management-aids, or the Trade Associa tions ................................ 77 Small producer dominated Los Angeles Garment Industry, and the financial problems of these producers ........ 82 Loaning agencies, or the source of funds for the Industry............... 86 Success of the management function as reflected in business failures .... 89 GROWTH OF THE LOS ANGELES GARMENT INDUSTRY . 96 Over-all growth of the Los Angeles Industry........................ 96 The growth of the various Trades within the Industry structure ............... 98 Personalities who have been influential in the growth of the Industry .... 101 MfA FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR THE LOS ANGELES GARMENT V CHAPTER PAGE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY ................... 107 ( Air shipment of garment products as a prospect.............................. 110 Intensive propagation of the Pacific market as a prospect................. 114 The eheouraging attitude of government as a favorable influence on the pros pects of the Los Angeles Garment In dustry ................................ 115 A supporting Cotton Textile Industry in the Los Angeles area as a prospect . . 116 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................... 123 GLOSSARY.......................................... 126 j LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE I. Trades Represented in the Los Angeles Garment Industry; Demonstrated by Employment Reported through Insured Employers of the Los Angeles County Area, June, 1 9 ^ 8 ....................... 11 II. Ratios of Representation of Stores by Buyers in the Los Angeles Market, - Spring, 1 9 ^ 6 ............................ 21 III. Average Hourly Earnings, Manufacturing Industries, 19^0 and 19^7............... ^8 IV. Straight-Time Hourly Earnings in the Manufacture of Women's Coats and Suits, September, 19^9......................... 50 V. Unemployment Insurance Payments, State of California, March through October, 19^9 • 56 VI. Failure Records and Liabilities of Selected Manufacturing Industries in the United States, 19^7................. 90 VII. Business Failures of Selected Southern California Manufacturing Industries, 1947............................. 94 TABLE VIII. vii PAGE Growth of Population Pattern for the United States and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, 1910 through 1950 . . Ill LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. ' Average Weekly Hours, 1947 through 1949 • . 46 2. Percent Change in Number of Firms in Opera tion, by Regions in the United States, All Industries and Manufacturing Industries Alone, March 1944 and 1949 109 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND STRUCTURE OF THE LOS ANGELES INDUSTRY It has long been a question of some magnitude as to whether the Pacific Coast in general, and the Southern California sector, in particular, could be developed suf ficiently industrially to support a population comparable in size to that existing on the East Coast, for example. Ours has been an area of comparatively great tourists attraction development, and small sustaining industry de velopment. The trend towards significant development of sustaining industry in our area has already begun. The Garment Industry, an important segment of Southern Cali fornia industry, has been chosen to illustrate the afore mentioned trend towards sustaining industry emphasis in our area. I. THE PROBLEM Statement of the problem. It was the purpose of this study to examine the Garment Industry in the South ern California area in a manner to demonstrate its prodigious development over the relatively short span of years it has been operating. Its developmental pattern 2 reflects the over-all progress of industry in our area. Since the Los Angeles portion of the Southern California Garment Industry is responsible for the bulk of garment production in this sector, the area of emphasis will be upon the Los Angeles market. Historical examination. All three of our basic needs, food, clothing, and shelter have lent themselves to industrialization only in recent years, and then re luctantly. Fabric manufacturing got under way very slowly. America's first complete wollen mill was not in operation until the year 1 7 8 6. It was not until the year 1831 that fabric manufacturing could be definitely termed in the process of change from handicraft to factory produc tion. The year 1825 had seen the first apparel factories established in Boston and New Bedford. Despite the early start, factory-made men's clothing was not of enough im portance to be listed in the *Census of Manufactures until i860. The nation's Coat and Suit Trade, the elder sister of the Dress Industry, took her first faltering steps about the year 1840. In 1840 cloaks and mantillas for women were first recognized as industrial rather than home products. 3 While the men's wear factories grew steadily in both size and number, the women's wear industry evidenced little growth prior to 1880. Oddly enough it was style, which factor was to become the dominant one in a few years, that actually retarded the production of women's ready-to-wear apparel. Before the Dress Industry could reach its present- day status of the leading branch of the Garment Industry, four prerequisites were necessary for mass production: (1) the mass production of fabrics; (2) an adequate sup ply of skilled labor; (3) a simply produced garment; and (4) a steady demand for a variety of styles. It was almost the close of the nineteenth century before the first two conditions, a plentiful supply of fabrics and labor, were fully met, and it was not until World War I that the easily produced single piece dress was developed. It in turn helped to develop a steady market for a variety of dressed covering a variety of uses. Al most immediately the Dress Trade assumed a position of « sales leadership from which it has never been displaced. The electrification of both the sewing machine and cutting machine sped up the expansion of the Dress Indus try. As early as 1900 the shirtwaist and skirt manufactur ing Industries showed signs that their evolution into 4 today’s Dress Trade was well underway. The first quarter of the twentieth century was to see the Dress Trade come into its own. A very important influence in this signifi cant formative period was Dame Fashion. As far back as i860 a single piece dress had been designed, but it was not until 1918 that the two leading Parisian designers, Chanel and Voinnet, introduced the single piece tabular gown. These single piece dresses made of light fabrics, were readily adaptable to mass production. It was in the field of men's wear that the Califor nia Garment Industry had its beginnings. The first area of concentration was in the men’s work clothes field. In this early period, suitable work clothes for men were at a premium. When the men's apparel industry was launched in California, about the year 1 8 9 0, the women's wear industry was yet in the formative stage. Men's work shirts customarily had stiff detached collars. An idea, one extremely important to the growth of the shirt trade, was conceived of making a double purpose work shirt with attached soft collar. This shirt was the type that could be worn on or off the job, and was the forerunner of our present-day sport shirt. Two pioneer California manufacturers claim the original 5 creation of the sport shirt. Cohn-Goldwater, a firm that started business in Los Angeles in 1 8 8 9, is one of the claimants to the dis tinction of creating the first sport shirt. This firm in the early 1 8 9 0’s produced a soft-collar shirt with two- flap, button down pockets that, according to Mr. Ernest Armer the present company head, was the forerunner of the modern sport shirt. The contention of one of Cohn-Goldwater1s contem poraries, the Brownstein-Louis Company, is that the first sport shirt was made by them. Their shirt evolved from the lumberman shirt, a Buffalo plaid creation that de veloped into our present-day lumber jacket. The Brown- stein-Louis Company sets 191^ as the date that the original sport shirt appeared. The women's apparel segment of the California Gar ment Industry made its start about the turn of the cen tury, but did not become of any real significance until the 1 9 2 0's. Joe Zukin, called the dean of the California sportswear field, is one of the outstanding pioneers in the women's apparel industry. Mr. Zukin started in busi ness in 1 9 1 6, women's shirtwaists being his original product. He was the first man to sell women's garments 6 made in Los Angeles to San Francisco buyers, and he quickly invaded the markets of other cities. From shirtwaists, Mr. Zukin went into the produc tion of beaded tunics, but owing to the fact that women were beginning to wear ready-made dresses, the tunics were shelved and production begun on dresses. Today his collection of casual dresses, slacks, and playclothes is an outstanding one. Ingenuity and persistence are responsible for the recognition that Southern California has gained in the apparel field since the nation was first brought to seri ously observe the "made in California" label in the early 1920’s. Thanks to the promotional efforts of our pro ducers, the California trademark is now one of genuine distinction. Extremely gifted designers are also greatly responsible for the rise of California apparel products to their present place, well up among the leaders of the industry. Marjorie Montgomery, who started making women's clothes in California in 1 9 2 6, is one of the designers who has contributed much to California’s reputation for clever use of fabrics in dress production. She is credited with the first effective use of faded blue denims in sailor dresses and playclothes, and she is also credited 7 with the first successful use of unbleached muslin in dress creations. She had a special process through which she put the muslin. A small amount of wax or shellac was placed in the dye bath thus giving the material a unique crinkle. To Irene Bury goes credit for the original Lona cloth. This is a rough, flecked fabric that is used principally in sacking bags. The flecks in it.arise be cause the yarn comes literally from the bottom of the barrel, well scraped. Perhaps the best known creator of peasant styles is Louella Ballerino. She came to California with her parents some thirty odd years ago. Her father became associated with the J. J. Haggarty Cloak and Suit House, a fact that led to her more or less natural gravitation towards the apparel field. Louella is probably most famous for her adaptation of the primitive design of the Togan tribe of Africa. Hopsacking was the material she used in her adaptation, and wooden block printing was the innovation she employed to place the design on the material. Louella is also well known for her creation of the dirndl dress which took the country by storm. Other California designers have given us distinc- tive California "firsts.1 1 For example, backless bathing 8 suits, women's slacks, the use of latex material in bath ing suits, peddle pushers, broomstick skirts, and the topper, the three-quarter length top coat, are all California accomplishments. As of the present, the California Garment Industry is in a position of national prominence. We, for example, are third behind New York and Chicago in the production of dresses,-1 second only to New York in the production of women's coats and suits,2 and sixth in the nation in the production of men's and boy's coats and suits.3 in evaluatp ing these facts, one must bear in mind that our Industry only came into contention on a national basis in the early 1930's. Ours is the youngest of the major garment indus tries in the nation. Future prospects for the Industry point towards more spectacular gains. II. STRUCTURE OF THE LOS ANGELES INDUSTRY Diversity of product. In order to present an even 1 Census of Manufactures, Women's Outwear, 1947 ishlngton, D. C.: United States Department of Com merce, Bureau of the Census, 1949 )> P* 3* 2 Ibid., P- 4. 3 Census of Manufactures, Men’s and Boy's Suits and Coats, 194T XWashington, D. C.: United States De- par tmenF”of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 19^9)* P» 2* 9 fairly adequate picture of the Garment Industry in this area, it is necessary at the outset to point out the sig nificant (if not perplexing) diversity of product that exists in the industry. One has to but make a cursory examination of one of the directory type publications, like the Directory of California Manufacturers for example, to determine the fact that the product of the Industry includes a myriad number of items. Such products as the following are list ed, by no means is this list intended to be exhaustive: Childrens and Infants Wear--baby wear, boy's clothing, childrens' dresses, children's hosiery, children's mit tens, children's playwear, children's robes, and children's sportswear. Men's Wear--coats, jackets, hose, neckwear, pajamas, student's clothing, suits, tuxedoes, cutaways, and underwear. Sportswear— sport coats, jackets, shirts, slacks, and playwear. Women's and Misses Wear--blouses, ladies, misses, and junior's dresses, gloves, misses gowns, robes, scarfs, skirts, slacks, tailored suits and sweaters. Rainwear— raincapes, raincoats, rainwear hoods, and waterproof garments. Lastly, Work Clothing and Uni forms— aprons, protective clothing, coveralls, overalls, hospital clothing, and work shirts. Decentralization. To add to the characteristic of diversity of product, one finds a noteworthy element of decentralization, in that many firms are engaged in the manufacture of wearing apparel in this area. Further, there are few large firms to be found in the Industry. According to the data compiled by the California State Bureau of Employment, there are some sixteen hundred manufacturers of wearing apparel in Los Angeles County. This same agency found that about thirteen hundred manu facturers are located in Los Angeles proper.^ There is a representative number of Trades in the totals of manufacturers stated above. An examination of the table on the following page will reveal that such Trades as the following are included: Men's and Boy's Suits and Overcoats; Men's and Boy's Furnishings— Work Clothing; Women's and Misses Outwear; Women's, Misses, and Children's Undergarments; Millinery; Children's and Infant's Outwear; Furgoods; Miscellaneous Apparel Acces sories; and Miscellaneous Fabricated Textile Products. This table not only demonstrates a representative distribution of Trades among those engaged in the ^ The January 1950 figures for the number of manufacturers in the Los Angeles area proper exclude some few manufacturers in the Hollywood area. 11 TABLE I (A) TRADES REPRESENTED IN THE LOS ANGELES GARMENT INDUSTRY; DEMONSTRATED BY EMPLOYMENT REPORTED THROUGH INSURED EMPLOYERS OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY AREA, JUNE, 1948* Number of Trade type establishments reporting Number of employees Men's and Boy's Suits and Overcoats 64 1,815 Men's and Boy's Furnishings- Working Clothing 226 5,931 Women's Misses and Childrens' Outwear 650 15,436 Women's Misses and Childrens' Undergarments 80 2 ,6 9 2 Childrens' and Infant's Outwear 93 1,306 Miscellaneous Apparel Accessories 73 1,157 ♦California State Bureau of Employment. (B) DISTRIBUTION OF ESTABLISHMENTS BY EMPLOYMENT SIZE GROUPS, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, 1947* Industry 1 to 19 20 to 99 employees 100 and over Apparel and related products 763 449 53 ♦United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 12 manufacturing process, but to some degree illustrates the characteristic of small firms being prevalent in the Industry. The table immediately beneath it estab lishes the fact rather conclusively that small firms prevail in our Los Angeles Industry. Location. As concerns the location of the Industry in the Los Angeles County area, a relatively small number of firms are situated in the outlying districts apart from the Los Angeles City area. Such communities as Beverly Hills, Compton, Inglewood, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, and Santa Monica, to name a few, are minority re pre se nt a t i ve s. There exists a significant degree of concentration in the downtown area of Los Angeles, but this character istic does not materially detract from the fact that the Industry is generally decentralized. The membership roster of the California Apparel Creators with its listing by buildings shows this afore mentioned tendency for downtown concentration. For example, some fifteen members are located on South Broad way, from the two hundred block to the nine hundred block. There are eight members situated on East Eighth Street, from the one hundred block to the three hundred block. From the two hundred block to the twenty-six 13 hundred block on South Hill Street, there are fourteen members registered. South Los Angeles Street is well represented with some thirty-five listings. TJntese manu facturers are situated in an area that encompasses blocks one hundred to seventeen hundred. The downtown portions of Main, Ninth, Spring, Third, and Seventh Streets are all duly represented in the register. Competition in the local market. Competition in the local market, as one would probably expect, is very intensive. This characteristic of intensive competition is inherent in the make-up of the national industry as a whole. At the outset the industry was composed of small, and highly competitive units. The industry is domestic in origin, the practice of utilizing home workers being an early characteristic. Closely allied to this aspect of domesticity is the fact that the product can be made, if necessary, by the consumer in his home. Product differentiation branding is a notable as pect of the competitive picture on the Los'Angeles Indus try, but since this differentiation is so closely tied in with fashion and its great possibility of product duplica tion it cannot be said to achieve the full preference- irnpact attendant with effective brand use. What with our extensive Trade Practice Rules and 14 Product Labeling Acts, exhortations of quality on the part of a given producer within a given price range cannot be said to markedly improve competitive position. Competitive advantage probably comes best through product-fashion value, but duplication makes this advantage short-lived. In the case of popular priced items, price competi tion is typical; but even within the popular price range a claim of originality of distinctiveness of product is a safer tool to employ for sales promotional purposes than drastic price cutting. The small producers in the Industry are not finan cially equipped for an extensive policy of drastic price competition. Reference to the profit margins of repre sentative Trades in the Industry illustrates this point. The 1948 Credit Story Reports for the years 1946, 1947 and 1948, covering the operations of the Rayon Blouse and Sportswear, Men’s Clothing, Coat and Suit, and Rayon Dress Trades showed for the years concerned the following group average net profit: Rayon Blouse and Sportswear— 3 per cent; Men's Clothing--3*l per cent; Coat and Suit--3*1 per cent; and Rayon Dress-2.3 per cent.5 5 Credit Story Reports (New York: National Credit Office Inc., pp. 11-14. 15 The type of competition that exists in the local market is very close to being pure in nature. Referring back to Table I, page 11, firms employing one hundred people or more comprised only 4 per cent of the firms surveyed, while on the other extreme, firms employing from one to nineteen workers totaled 6 0 per cent. * The Dress Trade in the local area can be used to illustrate the tendency of small firm domination sales- wise. For example, according to the National Credit Office, Inc., report released in 1948, and concerning 1946 sales in this Trade segment, the average volume per Los Angeles producer was $319*000, compared to a national Dress Trade average of $519*000. Nearly 53 per cent of the Los Angeles markets' concerns had a volume of less than $2 5 0,0 0 0, and only a dozen houses had sales of more than a million dollars (about 4 per cent of the firms in volved) .6 Ours by no means is an oligopolistic market; to say nothing of the existence of a monopoly tendency. 6 The Dress Industry (New York: National Credit ' Office, Inc.,“1948), p. 2 9. 16 Since the highly competitive condition of the market is to be also associated with the national industry, there exists little reason in the immediate future to expect a change. One might argue that a change to a condition of large firm domination would instill more stability into the market picture, but in the absence of very attractive profit prospects, and the presence of inherent tendencies toward smallness, little likelihood exists for this con tention to be tested through actual realization. CHAPTER II NATURE OF THE LOS ANGELES MARKET The heritage of romanticism that is California's has been transferred to the fashion forms of the various garment products of our market. The ' ’California way of life," with its casualness, and distinct departure from the conventional mode to be found in the East, for ex ample, is reflected to great effect in the creations of our clever designers. Fashion market. The very essence of the Los Angeles market is fashion emphasis. Since the casual California way of life is best reflected in sportswear, it is with this product that California fashion has gained the most recognition.euromarket is recognized the world over as the most outstanding sportswear market in America, and it is the local area that sets the fashion trends in sportswear. Freedom of movement, and utility or‘ functional ap peal, are attributes incorporated in the products of our local manufacturers. California clothes present a groomed casualness, distinctive for their individuality and beauty of simplicity, yet they are striking and easily recognized anywhere. I # T 18 ft ^ ^ Our designers' andHprotTttclr s have worked hard to make California sportswear the most distinctive in the world. They are painstaking and have definite standards of quality which make their sportswear outstanding. The attributes of originality, design, ingenuity, and high quality our designers and producers intend to maintain at all costs. With this steadfast intention to maintain a high qualitied, distinctive, and original product prevailing in the minds of our producers, Immediate prospects for the establishment of mass market conditions in our area are indeed dim. Whether our market on a fashion basis can develop into a real all-around competitor, rivalling New York for example, remains to be proved. There is of course also the possibility of our market developing in the future along duel lines— both fashion and popular. The fact that such a developmental trend is not in evi dence today is probably largely attributable to the youth of the Los Angeles market. Predominantly local distribution. Although the bulk of the product manufactured in our apparel market is dis tributed locally, many other sections of the country are represented among the buyers of the diverse Los Angeles garment product. 19 Charles S. Goodman1 in his apparel manufacture study* The Location of Fashion Industries* found that on the basis of listings in the California Apparel News as of December, 1946 there were approximately sixty-five resident buying offices in the Los Angeles market exclu sive of resident offices serving individual stores or chains. These included about ten offices affiliated with similar offices in New York* and fifty-five not so affiliated. The Resident Buyers Guild was formed by nine of the independent offices. The sixty-five resident buying offices varied in size from large departmentalized organizations having a dozen or more buyers to small offices in which the resi dent buyer was a single individual. Nearly all of the offices bought women's wear, although seven specialized in men's wear, one in children's wear, and two exclusive ly in home furnishings. Approximately nine hundred stores (well dispersed over the country) were represented by sixteen of these buying offices concerned. Mr. Goodman in his study investigated the location of California apparel manufacturer's customers through the mediumof first making a tabulation of all stores hav ing representatives in the Los Angeles market at any time during a nine week period in the Spring of 1946, based ” 1 Charles S. Goodman, The Location of Fashion 20 upon listings in the "Arrival of Buyers," section of the California Apparel News. This list of stores was then compared with a basic outlet pattern consisting of independent department stores with 1939 sales over $3 0 0,000, and independent women's ready-to-wear stores with 1939 sales in excess of $100,000. The result of this comparative examination is presented in tabular form on the following page. In evaluating this table, allowance must be made for the fact that Los Angeles area buyers are not reported in the California Apparel News. The result is an under statement of the representation of the Pacific Coast states. When adjustment is made for the under-representation of the Los Angeles buyers in the tabular presentation, it is found that the ratios of representatives decline fairly regularly with distance from Los Angeles. Mr. Goodman found that a geographic analysis of the sixteen resident buying offices gave results similar to those of the comparative examination just mentioned. As among the buying offices, the older independent offices forming the Resident Buyers Guild had stronger representa tion in the Pacific states, the independent offices 1 (continued) Industries (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 194ts), pp. 3o-8. 21 TABLE II RATIOS OF REPRESENTATION OF STORES BY BUYERS IN THE LOS ANGELES MARKET, SPRING, 1946 Region Stores Buyers Ratios Pacific 147 97 .66 Mountain 45 42 • 93 West South Central 131 86 .66 West North Central 146 60 .41 East North Central 391 95 .24 East South Central 96 22 .23 South Atlantic 203 58 .29 Middle Atlantic 471 85 • t —■ 00 New England 183 13 . .07* ♦Charles S. Goodman, The Location of Fashion Industries (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1946), pp. 36-8. 22 generally had greater representation in the Mountain and West South Central states, and affiliated offices had relatively stronger representation in the Middle Atlantic, New England areas. As the Guild offices in general are of longer stand ing in the Los Angeles market than the other independents and the affiliated units, the heavier representation of the Mountain, Pacific, and West South Central areas by these offices would indicate either that stores in these areas have been represented over longer periods, or that the Guild offices cater particularly to these areas. Distance plays an important part in the decision to shop in the Los Angeles market. In addition to this, the greater amount of representation of near-by accounts by the older independent buying offices comprising the Guild would indicate that these accounts visited the market earlier than those farther east or farther north. The influence of distance in store’s decisions to shop the Los Angeles market seems confirmed by both the scrutiny of accounts of resident buyers, and the analysis of buyers reported to be in the Los Angeles market. Rather than finding a strong local market ac companied by and contrasted with a uniform distribution of buyers over the balance of the country, one finds a 23 tendency towards a gradual decline of representation as movement is made northward or southward of the Los Angeles marke t. Medium and higher priced products features. Fash ion# prestige products are featured by the manufacturers in the Los Angeles area. These products# as one would probably expect# fall most heavily in the medium and better grade garment categories. Our manufacturers make no serious attempt to compete on a price basis (especially as concerns the various market areas far removed from the local scene), but instead elect to produce in the price area where attractive mark-up possibilities in relation to producer cost are the greatest. This characteristic of predominant production in the better, and especially medium grade areas is il-. lustrated by examination of data presented by the National Credit Office, Inc. This organization stated, in its “Market Planning Service Report" on 19^5 sales in the important Women's Coat and Suit field# that California manufacturers produced 62.2 per cent of their volume in the medium price area, while New York, for example, pro duced only 45*5 per cent of its volume in this area.2 2 Women's Coat and Suit Industry (New York: Nation al—CreLdlt Office, Inc„.XT9l5XZ_4ip_._„19.^2_7-.__________________ 24 For this same period, it was found that medium grade merchandise was aiso the most important in the Los Angeles Men's Clothing Trade. Though manufacturers of popular priced garments accounted for nearly one-half of all the firms in the United States, only one-fifth of the Los Angeles firms engaged in the manufacture of men's clothing (classified by grade of apparel) were so listed.3 An examination of the National Credit Office's 1946 report on the Dress Trade gives a similar result. In the Los Angeles market for this period, out of a total of 353 firms classified by grades manufactured, sixty-three of the firms, or about 18 per cent were engaged in the manu facture of better grade, and higher priced items. New York in this same period had 2,663 firms classi fied by grades manufactured. Popular priced garment pro ducing firms comprised about 4l per cent of the total (1,0 9 2), medium priced garment producing firms comprised about 48 per cent of the total (l,2 8l), and the better priced garment producing firms comprised about 11 per cent of the total (2 9 0 ) . 4 3 The Men's and Boy's Clothing Industry (New York: National CreditOTfice, Inc., 1946),pp. 14-23. ^ The Dress Industry (New York: National Credit Office, Inc.,“1946), pp. 25-9 • CHAPTER III LABOR One cannot gain an adequate picture of the labor situation in a given industry without first examining the work processes of the industry in question. It is with this in mind that the subject of work types and processes is approached. All of the data to be presented is not solely pertinent to the Los Angeles Industry, but still the discussion is of general appli cability to our Industry. Division of garment fabrication into processes. The manufacture of garments does not lend itself readily to the establishment of departments, except in very large plants. In small plants, the various workers may be grouped more or less efficiently to permit a flow of work through one or more rooms from worker to worker until it is completed; or individual machines and tables may be arranged to utilize the available space,light, and power connections without consideration of the progress of work through the shop. A practical basis of departmentalization for purposes of classification and discussion is a division of garment fabrication into types of work. A good divi sion of this type can be set up under the following head ings: Cloth Processing, Designing and Patternmaking, Marking and Cutting, Machine Sewing, Hand Sewing and Finishing, Tailoring, Dressmaking and Alteration, Pressing, Supervision and Inspection, Shipment and Storage, Purchase and Sales, Miscellaneous Machine and Manual Jobs, and Maintenance and Service. Considering in order the Jobs corresponding to the Just mentioned categories, there are three Jobs that may be involved in the process of readying cloth for garment fabrication— Cloth Examining, Testing, and Sponging. The workers in these three Jobs engage in preparing bulk cloth from the textile mills for use in the fabrication of cloth ing. The last mentioned process involving the employment of Spongers is included, because some garment manufactur ing establishments still do their own shrinking, although cloth shrinking and finishing plants are often separate from establishments actually manufacturing garments. * This group of Jobs has little occupational rela tionship with other groups in a given garment establish ment, except with the Shipping and Storage Group. The relationship even with this group is casual since the purposes for which the two groups handle materials are 27 4uite different, and the techniques employed are not alike. Hence, this group is found tobe peculiar in that it is more closely related to jobs in other industries and in other branches of the Garment Industry than to other job groups in the same establishment. Within the cloth processing group, each job is distinct both as to tasks performed and the experience re quired. However, all of the jobs have a common purpose in the preparation of bulk cloth for garment manufacture. The possibility of transfer of these workers to similar jobs in such industries as automobile, canvas goods, furniture, house furnishing goods, and textile manufacturing is particularly good. There are excellent opportunities, likewise, for these workers to transfer among the individual establishments in the several branches; of the Garment Industry. Although the specific fabrics used for the various operations Introduce variations In the tasks, qualified workers could adjust their working techniques, with retraining, because the fundamental char acter of the job remains unchanged. Each of the workers within this group must be able to identify the fabrics in common use and must be thorough ly familiar with the characteristics of each. The impor tance of these workers to a garment manufacturing 28 establishment lies in their technical ability to control the quality of the material from which the product is made. The Designing and Patternmaking Jobs which involve Copyist, Designers, Pattern Graders, and Patternmakers may be logically divided into two classes; those in which workers prepare and adapt style designs, and those in which workers convert the designs into patterns. Although they execute the first step in the manu facture of garments, these workers are not too closely re lated to other garment makers. They form a more or less closely knit entity in themselves. Transfer from job to job within the Group may be accomplished if additional training if provided. Within the garment manufacturing process, those workers engaged in designing or patternmaking are not usually transferred from work on one type of garment to work on another; as from women’s dresses to men's suits, from undergarments to men's shirts, or from heavy fabrics to light fabrics, since each requires certain peculiar elements of skill. the Designing and ;ernmaking Jobs are ability to recognize principles of style; ability in the technical use of "line" in the design of garments; and a knowledge The essential qualifications for employment in 29 of garment construction supplemented by a thorough familiarity with fabrics and their working characteristics. Inasmuch as the workers engaged in the making and grading of patterns closely cooperate with those engaged in designing, there exists an opportunity for each group to acquire a general familiarity with the work of the other. The Marking and Cutting Jobs which involve the employment of Assemblers, Cutters, Fitters, Markers, Spreaders, and Ticketers are concerned with the cutting and general preparation of garment pieces for later assembly into completed garments. The Group is peculiar to the Garment Industry, not to be found specifically in other industries. How ever, the electric cutting machine which is employed in this Job classification is used for similar purposes in such industries as the manufacture of canvas goods and house furnishings. It is probable that a worker from this Group who has had experience in using the machine could qualify for the somewhat heavier or less skilled Jobs these industries might afford him. Among the six aforementioned Jobs within this Group there exists one of the very few definite promo tional sequences in the industry. Specifically, a 30 Ticketer may be promoted successively to Assembler, Fitter or Spreader, Cutter, and Marker. The Marking and Cutting Group does therefore provide definite occupational advantages. In addition to having a rare promotional sequence, the Group has close transfer relationships with similar groups in all branches of the Garment Industry. It has a close occupa tional tie-in with the groups immediately preceding and following it in the garment manufacturing process. The qualifications for employment in this Group vary from comparatively simple abilities required for Ticketer and Assembler to the extensive experience and highly developed skill of Cutter and Marker. The Machine Sewing Jobs which include those of the Learner, Sewing Machine Operator (Line System), Sewing Machine Operator (Section System), Sewing Machine Operator (Single-Hand System), and All-Around Sewing Machine Opera tor embrace the jote at which the great majority of workers in the Garment Industry are employed. The skill of the workers varies more as to type than to degree, since each worker must acquire a technique peculiar to the operation performed and the kind of garment made. For example, the Line-System Operator who performs only one operation in the construction of a 31 garment is concerned principally with speed, while the Single-Hand System Operator who makes a complete garment must be also versatile to perform several different opera tions . Although there are machine sewing jobs in several industries, the free transfer of workers from the Garment Industry to related needle trade occupations is not generally feasible. Perhaps the least difficult transfers are those to machine sewing jobs in the House Furnishing Goods, Retail Trade, and Cleaning-Dyeing, and Pressing Industries. Considerable training would be required, however, to effect this type of transfer, the amount depending upon the nature of the particular jobs involved, The more versatile Sewing Machine Operator (Single-Hand Sys tem), and All-Around Sewing Machine Operator would qualify more readily for transfer than the Line or Section System Operators whose tasks involve little or no variety. Some manufacturers prefer to train inexperienced workers for the sewing operations in their plants. However, domestic or trade school training is desirable and in many cases required. The length of training period for a particular job will, in addition to the experience required of the worker, depend on the system used and the 32 kind of apparel made in the plant. Hand Sewing and Finishing Jobs are concerned with such operations as basting, shaping, and finishing, all of which involve considerable hand sewing. The job classifications in the Hand Sewing and Finishing Group are the following: Baster, Finisher, Hand Embroiderer, and Shaper. Similar groups of hand sewers are commonly found in such allied industries as Embroideries, Fur Goods, and Hat and Cap. These groups do not necessarily employ' simi lar working techniques. A small degree of interchange ability exists between the workers of this Group and those of allied groups. The most favorable opportunities for promotion en joyed by hand sewing workers in general are found within the Hand Sewing and Finishing Group of the Garment Indus try. Such promotions would probably follow the course from Baster, to Shaper, to Finisher as the worker develops greater skill in the hand sewing technique. The Hand Sewing and Finishing workers must be familiar with the operations of standard and special sew ing machines in so far as they affect the shaping and finishing of the garment. Familiarity with various phases of the assembly and construction of garments is desirable 33 and may be required. Since this work causes considerable eye strain# good eyesight is a very necessary worker re quire me ntj./x Craft Jobs (or Tailoring) which include those of Busheler, Dressmaker (Made-To-Order), Journeyman Tailor, and Tailor (Shop) employ workers who are completely trainee' in a distinct phase of the needle trades and are thorough ly competent to execute any or all tasks that a job em braces. The Tailor (Shop), however, because he performs only one or a few of the skilled tailoring tasks necessary to complete a garment cannot be considered as skilled as a worker who is engaged in the performance of all tailor ing tasks. Within the Garment Industry there is an especially close relationship between the workers on the Craft Jobs and the Standard and Special Sewing Machine Operators, whose work this Group may supervise or participate in. There is a close occupational relationship between the Craft Group and the Planning and Regulation, and Pattern- making Groups, the former aiding production through effi cient planning and laying out of work to be performed, and the latter being charged with the design of garments, patternmaking, and pattern grading. Establishments organized along mass-production 34 lines in the manufacture of ready-made garments may em ploy various craftsmen to perform key jobs in a largely semi-skilled organization. In such event, experienced tailors are frequently employed for specialized work in the ready-made manufacturing establishments. The Pressing Jobs which involve Finish Pressers, Hand Pressers, and Underpressers are those concerned with the smoothing and shaping of garments, or garment parts; either as a step in garment fabrication or to Impart a finished appearance to completed garments. There are two general types of pressing jobs; those involving underpressing in which garment parts are smoothed and seams flattened to facilitate the assembly of the parts by sewing, and those concerned with finish I pressing which is the final shaping and smoothing of com pleted. garments. Underpressing may be accomplished with a hand iron or with a pressing machine. It Is generally done on the Inside of the garment, and usually requires less skill than finish pressing. The duties of the under- presser may vary from the simple smoothing of cloth and flattening of seams to the important and skillful shaping of garments. Finish pressing which may be done with a hand iron 35 or steam press, differs from underpressing in that it is usually performed on the outside (right side) of the cloth. Generally the finish pressing jobs require more skill than the underpressing jobs since the appearance and salability of garments depend largely on the perfec tion of their finish pressing. Because of existing differences between underpress ing and finish pressing and the variations introduced into either operation when performed on different kinds of garments and types of material, it is difficult to establish transfer relationships for workers in pressing jobs. Finish Pressers from this Group may find employ ment in the Cleaning, Dyeing, and Pressing Industry, but underpressing is peculiar to the Garment Industry. With in the Garment Industry there is little occupational re lationship between the pressers and other garment workers. However, the pressers and machine sewers must work in close cooperation. The Supervisory and Inspection Jobs which involve those of Draper, Examiner, Final Inspector, and Foreman concern those charged with the responsibility for planning, directing, and inspecting the work of others. Although these jobs are found in other industries under the same 36 or similar titles, each is specialized in a phase of garment manufacture, and the jobs do not lend themselves readily to the transfer of workers to other industries. The jobs found in this Group may be considered as links between office and shop, correlating the functions of management and production, and maintaining close con tact with all jobs in the establishment. For example, a specific Foreman is so closely related to the group of workers he supervises that he is considered an actual part of the group or department. Thus, as representatives of the management and as leaders of individual production units, those employed in a supervisory capacity comprise a connecting link required in any industry. The Foremen jobs require supervisory ability while all of the jobs of this Group require long experience in the manufacture of garments. For the most part the jobs are filled by outstanding and capable workers in whom the management has gained confidence over a period of years. ^ The Shipment and Storage Jobs involve the handling of the raw materials for garment fabrication, the packing of completed garments, and the shipment of garments to market. Some jobs in this Group, such as Receiving Clerk, and Stock Clerk, are characterized by the requirement of 37 clerical ability and a thorough knowledge of the products used or fabricated; while others* such as Bundler* Folder and Packer demand only speed and neatness in the folding and packing of garments. These jobs are peculiar to the Garment Industry only in that cloth wearing apparel of various kinds is handled. Comparable jobs involving essentially the same duties exist in many other manufacturing industries; and as a result* transfer of workers to these jobs in various industries is practicable and may be affected during slack seasons or periods of subnormal business activity in the Garment Industry. There is no definite sequence of promotion within the Group, since many of the jobs are on the same level. For those workers on the less responsible jobs* who de velop the necessary clerical ability and become familiar with the fabrics used and garments produced at the plant* promotions to Shipping Clerk* Receiving Clerk, and Piece Goods Man are not uncommon. There must be close coopera tion between the workers of this Group and those of the Cloth Cutting and Marking Groups whom they must keep con stantly supplied with goods* and those of the Pressing or Hand Sewing and Finishing Groups from whom the supply of completed garments is received. / 38 The Purchase and Sales Jobs which include those of Models, Piece-Goods Buyers, and Salesmen involve those in the Garment Industry who are charged with the responsibil ity for the buying of materials for garment manufacture, and the displaying and selling of garments to the retail and wholesale trade. The distinguishing characteristic of the buying jobs, the ability to purchase garment materials wisely and well, is gained only through years of experience in the*Industry. Thus, the transfer of workers from other industries to these jobs is unusual, even though the buy ing jobs in all industries require somewhat the same funda mental knowledge of procurement. Although the selling jobs may be found in several industries under same or similar titles, each worker is a specialist in the sale of a particular type of product or garment. Inasmuch as the workers engaged In the dis play of garments closely cooperate with and work under the supervision of the Salesmen, there is an opportunity for them to acquire a general familiarity with garment xiic coDciitial qualifications for employment in garment sales include the ability to present sales argu ments forcefully and convincingly, as well as originality, 39 resourcefulness, ability to meet people, and good person al appearance. Principal requirement for the buying jobs is experience in selection of fabrics that are attractive and durable. This selective ability should be supplement ed by knowledge of textile fibers, behavior of various fabrics when made up into garments, and of garment con- ; struction. I / ^ The Miscellaneous and Manual Jobs are those requir ing little skill, and are concerned with the performance of simple processes or the aiding of workers who perform the more skilled jobs in the manufacture of wearing ap parel. Their purpose is to relieve these key workers from the performance of minor but necessary tasks; the same of which if performed by key workers would retard the I rapid and efficient execution of their operations. These jobs also serve in many factories as a means to introduce new workers to the techniques of garment manufacturing, and as such, may be considered beginning jobs. Because of the relative simplicity of these jobs, they can be learned quickly, and they lend themselves readily to the transfer of workers among many industries and among the various branches of the Garment Industry itself. This Group is necessarily related to other job 40 groups in the Industry, in that the duties performed serve to facilitate or to supplement the work of others. A few of the jobs are of an independent nature, for instance, the Spotter who cleans stains from garments, and the Mangle Feeder and Catcher who iron \handkerchiefs or\simple garments; but even these are dependent upon workers in other jobs for their supply of work, or prepare work for the subsequent operations of other jobs. The Maintenance and Service Jobs which involve Repairman Helpers, Sewing Machine Repairmen and Porters are concerned with the repairing and servicing of plant equipment and the cleaning of the plant building. The jobs of the Sewing Machine Repairman and Re pairman Helper are quite important to the efficient func tioning of the garment manufacturing processes. Although comparable jobs involving a similar fundamental mechanical knowledge are found in other industries, these jobs do not lend themselves to the transfer of workers without considerable training. This is true since they involve a familiarity peculiar to the construction and operation of sewing machines, and other garment-making equipment. As their titles imply, the Sewing Machine Repair man and the Repairman Helper jobs are closely related to each other, but not to the typical garment-making jobs of other groups. In many establishments, however, the workers in the Machine Sewing Jobs are required to make minor repairs and adjustments to the machines, and as a result they must cooperate closely with the workers of the Sewing Machine Repairman Group. The job of Sewing Machine Repairman, to which the Sewing Machine Repairman Helper is promoted, calls for an experienced worker with a complete understanding of the rather complicated mechanisms of standard and special sewing machines, and involves the exercise of considerable skill and ingenuity in order to prevent production losses. General working conditions. There are two kinds of manufacturing establishments in the Garment Industry, namely, the "inside shop" in which the same management that buys and cuts the cloth also operates the factory in which the garments are completely made; and the "con tract shop," the management of which undertakes to make up garments from cloth purchased and cut by others. (The Los Angeles Industry is to be associated with the first type). Working conditions are usually better in the more responsible "inside shops" than in the "contract shops." However, the working conditions in either kind of shop frequently compare favorably with the most modern factory b2 working conditions of other industries. In contrast to the former "sweat-shop” conditions, today we find the wages, hours, and working conditions in a large proportion of the garment manufacturing estab lishments more closely regulated by law and agreement than is the case in many other large American industries. The principal dangers of injury to garment workers are laceration of fingers by sewing machine needles, serious cuts from electrical cutting machines, and burns from hot irons or pressing machines. The burns and sew ing machine needle punctures, while painful and entailing the danger of infection, rarely result in prolonged dis ability. The injuries inflicted by the electric cutting machine may be very serious, frequently entailing the loss of fingers; however, only a very few of the more skilled garment workers have occasion to use the machine. In the true sense, there are apparently no occupa tional diseases of garment workers. However, said workers exhibit an above average susceptability to respiratory diseases, particularly tuberculosis. The lint thrown in to the air in certain lines of garment manufacture is an important factor contributing to the high incidence of respiratory disease. In inadequately ventilated shops where poorly adjusted gas irons are used, there is danger 43 of carbon monoxide poisoning. General advantages and disadvantages of work. Entry into the Garment Industry is relatively easy, since no special physical requirements are imposed by the work, and little education or training is required for beginners There is little danger of serious injury inherent in garment employment and no pronounced health hazard. Work surroundings and hours of labor are controlled by law or Union agreement in many Jurisdictions. This con trol results in fairly good working conditions. In contrast to the foregoing advantages, the Gar ment Industry offers little opportunity for advancement to the average worker, although good.Jobs are available to the exceptional few. Since most of the work is paid for according to one form or another of the so-called "piece-work" system, workers may encounter considerable fatigue and nerve strain in their efforts to earn a high wage. Further, much of the work is seasonal which results' in several weeks of unpaid idleness for the workers, especially in establishments where no agreement specifying minimum yearly employment is in force. Comparative employment levels. As of the year 1947, 44 the total number of those gainfully employed in the United States was approximately 58 million people. Roughly 2 per cent of these workers, or 1,130,000 were employed in the Apparel and Related Products Industry.1 In the state of California for this same year the total number of those gainfully employed approximated U 664,000. About 43,000 of these workers (roughly 6 per cent) were employed in the Apparel and Related Products Industry.2 In the Los Angeles area for the aforementioned year 358,772 people were gainfully employed. About 9 per cent of these workers, or 32,964 were engaged in the manufacture of apparel and related products. This area of our principal interest employed over 75 per cent of those engaged in garment manufacturing in the State of California, and utilized some .003 per cent of all the workers engaged in garment manufacturing the entire nation.3 1 Census of Manufactures, Summary Statistics, 1947 (Washington, D. (?7: United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 19^9)* P* 2 Census of Manufactures, Calif., 1947 (Washington, D. C.: United'States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1949), p. 3- 3 ibid., p. 8. 45 Wages and hours. Garment workers taken as a whole belong to the general group of non-durable goods workers who according to the figures for the years 1947 and 1948 have hourly earnings slightly less than those of the workers engaged in durable goods manufacture. In 1947 the gross average hourly earnings for production workers en gaged in non-durable goods manufacture were $1.1 7, while for the durable goods workers they were $1.29. In the year 1948 the gross average hourly earnings for production workers engaged in non-durable goods manufacture were $1.2 8, while for the durable goods workers they were $1.41. Workers engaged generally in the manufacture of non-durable goods (the group to which garment workers belong) put in slightly less weekly hours on the average than workers engaged in the manufacture of durable goods. The graph on the next page illustrates this point. The average hourly earnings of production workers engaged in the fabrication of apparel and other finished % products, and those comprising the general non-durable ^ Hours and Earnings, Industrial Report (Washington, D. C.: United States Department of Labor, 1 9 4 9), p. 1 3. 4j goods group, to which the garment workers belong are quite comparable. This applies at least on the basis of figures for the years 19^7 and 1948. In the year 1947> Apparel and Other Finished Pro ducts workers had average hourly earnings of $1,12 5, v* ' /^ while the non-durable goods workers group had average hourly earnings of $1,1 3 3. In the year 1948, Apparel and Other Finished Products workers had average hourly earnings of $1 ,1 8 2, while the non-durable goods worker's group had average hourly earnings of $1,241.5 An examination of comparative figures of the Los Angeles area and other areas involving in one case differ entials of average hourly earnings by industries and geographical areas; and in the other, differentials of average hourly earnings as between the garment workers of the Los Angeles area, and other areas is now in order. The table on page 48 will be utilized in this analysis. On it we find the following facts: 1. For the year 1947 (which is the most recent and consequently the most important), the garment workers 5 ibid., p. 3. TABLE III AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS, MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, 1940 AND 1947* 48 1940 Industry - 1947 U*S. L.A. Diff. U.S. L.A. Diff. Apparel l4'o.544 $0 ,5 5 2 $0 ,0 0 8 $1,037 $1,377 $0,341) Auto and Auto Equip. 0.948 0.921 -0.027 1.389 1.405 0 .0 1 6 Chemical and allied inds. O .676 0.725 0.049 1.143 1.265 0.122 Elect. Mach. and Equipment 0 .7 2 8 0 .7 2 2 -0 .0 0 6 1.202 1.259 0.057 Food and kindred products O.616 0 .6 8 1 0.065 1.083 1.289 0 .2 0 6 Furniture and Wood Products 0.536 0 .6 5 8 0.122 1.015 1.324 0.309 Iron and Steel c/0.755 0.755 0.000 1.262 1.348 O.O86 Leatiw and Leather Products 0.549 O.56I 0.012 1.025 1.29 1 0 .2 6 6 Lumber and Timber 0.5 1 1 0.772 0.26 1 0.963 1.347 0.384 Machinery except Electrical 0 .7 6 1 0.787 0.026 1.283 1.362 0.079 Nonferrous Metals 0.711 0.761 0 .0 5 0 1.217 1.355 0.138 Paper and Allied Products 0.613 0 .6 9 2 0.079 1.085 1.2 1 9 0.134 Petroleum Products 0.887 0.963 0.076 1.384 1.434 0.050 Printing Publ. and Allied Inds. 0 .8 8 2 0.980 0 .0 9 8 1.379 1.542 0.163 Rubber Products _ 0 .7 6 6 0 .9 0 6 0.140 1.332 1.445 0 .1 1 3 Stone clay and glass 0.654 O .656 0.002 1.125 1 .2 9 2 0 .1 6 7 Textile Mill Prods . 0.482 0.598 0 .1 1 6 0.970 I .167 0.197 Transp. Equipment 0.795 0.750 0.045 1.355 1.387 0.032 ♦United States Department of Labor (national data) California Department of Industrial Relations (Los Angeles cata). 49 of the Los Angeles area received average hourly earnings that were sixth highest of those received by workers in all eighteen Los Angeles industries concerned in the study. 2. Los Angeles garment workers received average hourly earnings markedly higher than those received by similar workers in the rest of the United States. 3. The differential between the average hourly earnings of the Los Angeles garment workers and similar workers in the rest of the United States ($0,340) was the second highest differential of average hourly earnings, as concerned the worker’s earnings in a given Los Angeles industry compared with similar worker's earnings in the particular industry for the nation as a whole. We next examine a more recent study involving average hourly earnings of garment workers; a comparative study of average hourly earnings of workers in two Trades of the over-all Industry, Women's Coats and Suits, and Women's and Misses Dresses. The data to be examined is presented in tabular form on page 50. The same shows the following: 1. As concerns the Women's Coat and Suit Trade of the Garment Industry, Los Angeles worker's average hourly earnings for the period concerned were definitely 50 TABLE IV (A) STRAIGHT-TIME HOURLY EARNINGS OF WOMEN'S COATS AND SUITS, IN THE MANUFACTURE SEPTEMBER, 1949 Average straight-time Workers involved earnings in selected Chicago Cleveland L.A. hourly areas Phil. N.Y. All workers-all plant occupations $2 .1 9 $2 .0 7 $2.35 $2 .0 2 $2.43 Men 2.64 2.42 3-40 2 .2 9 2.54 Women - 1*51 1*53 1.95 1 .5 0 1.91 (B) STRAIGHT-TIME HOURLY EARNINGS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WOMEN'S DRESSES, SEPTEMBER, 1949 Plant occupations Average straight-time and sex of worker earnings in selected Chicago Cleveland L.A. hourly areas Phil. N.Y.# Cutters, mach.-men $2.19 $2.07 $2.35 $2 .0 2 $2.43 Pressers, finish-woraen 1 .0 7 1 .0 2 1.55 1 .0 0 2.54 Sewers, hand finishers- women 1.38 1.07 1 .2 5 1.23 1.47 Sewing machine opera tors, Single-Hand (Tailor) System-men ♦♦ 1.69 v/ 1 .4 7 2.59 S 2.70 Average of wages in volved 1*55 1*39 1 .7 2 1.42 *** 2.14 ♦All figures concerning New York are based upon dresses priced by the unit, while those of the other areas are based upon an average of dresses priced by the unit and by the dozen. ♦♦Chicago didn't have enough workers in the last cate gory to justify the presentation of an average. ♦♦♦Average composed of three job classifications only. Source: U. S. Dept, of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 51 higher than the worker's earnings of any other area presented. This applied for all workers taken as a whole, or for men or women taken separately. 2. In the Women’s and Misses' Dress Trade Los Angeles was second to the leader, New York, in two occupa tional categories, third in one, and lowest in the last category (there being five occupational categories in volved in this particular study). 3. An average of the wages presented shows Los Angeles second only to New York. (The writer concedes that an average of an average is not the essence of ac curacy, but in this case it serves reasonably as a basis of comparison.) In evaluating the information concerning the aver age wage differential between New York and Los Angeles, it must be borne in mind that New York figures are based upon work performed on dresses priced by the unit, while the figures for the other areas are based upon work per formed on dresses priced by the dozen and by the unit. The point should be reasonably well established by now that generally speaking, the wage level of Los Angeles garment workers is higher than that for similar workers in the Industry taken as a whole. Because of this condition, it has been said by some observers that 52 the general wage level of Los Angeles garment workers is too high? and the same has a negative affect upon the competitive position of the Los Angeles Industry as con cerns outsiders. The Los Angeles Coat Trade (particularly, Hen's) has been singled out as an Industry segment in need of wage reduction. Supposedly substantiating this claim is the current tendency of this Trade towards migration away from the "high wage" Los Angeles area. Hasty judgment, however, cannot be employed where this weighty question is concerned. It is not within the scope of this study to positively settle the question; but through the medium of a comparison of total wages to value added through manufacture, a rough estimate of the productive value of labor, and the reasonableness of labor cost in the light of this productive value can be derived. Applying this principle to areas, it can be de termined, at least roughly, whether Los Angeles garment workers receive wages significantly out of line with those paid in other garment producing areas. Using the year 19^7 as a basis for making the aforementioned comparison, Apparel and Related Product's workers (workers engaged in actual production operations only) in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area received total 53 wages of $71>2 9 0. The value to the product added through manufacture was $144,860. The cost of labor in this area for the period considered was about 49 per cent of the value added by manufacture— the same of which was quite strongly attributable to the efforts of labor. In the Cleveland market for the year 1947* value added by manufacture totaled $5 6,6 0 2, the cost of labor was $2 5 ,8 6 7» or about 46 per cent of the value added by manufacture. In the Chicago area, the cost of labor, $95,225* was approximately 43 per cent of the value added by manufacture, $222,905- Philadelphia's labor cost of $110,205 was about 48 per cent of the value added by manufacture, $227>537* The New York market had a value added by manufacture of $2,049*387* and the cost of labor in this market was $895*449, or about 44 per cent of the value added by manufacture.^ At least on the basis of this comparison, the cost of labor in the Los Angeles,area is not excessive. This pertains if the relationship of labor cost to productive- 1 ness is considered. Fluctuations in labor demand, or seasonality of 6 Census of Manufactures, loc. cit. 54 employment. The Garment Industry of Los Angeles, like the Industry taken as a whole, has a significant element of seasonal employment as one of its characteristics. It is not uncommon for labor demand to change some 30 or 40 per cent within a relatively short period of time. It is not necessary to examine figures on average weekly employment in order to determine that this condi tion exists. Casual attention given to the ''help wanted" signs of the various producers of the area will bring about awareness of the seasonal employment situation. Figures on the average weekly employment of workers in the Industry do not begin to properly illuminate the condition, in fact to some extent they are plain mislead ing. They are misleading at least in two respects; the affect upon the individual, an extremely important one as concerns this Industry, is covered up by the averaging characteristic of the data presented, and the figures on employment do not allow for the tendency of workers to be "tied" to their employers through contractual agree- * ments; thus considered to be employed, and yet for given periods not earning anything at all. Speaking generally, the lull periods for production, and consequently employment in the Industry are the months of January (after Christmas lull), May (after 55 Easter lull)* and July (Summer lull). In the light of these fluctuations* a forty-week work year is not a bad estimate of the average worker's annual employment. There are various reasons offered for these fluctua tions in production and employment* among them being poor long range planning* over-optimism (mistaking short run accomplishments for permanent level of operation)* and poor market analysis and evaluation. All may be partial contributors, but the product "artificial perishability" factor for which fashion is responsible, and with which fashion is intimately associated, is a basic underlying cause of fluctuations of production and employment in the Industry. Strong reliance upon fashion change as a means to facilitate sales has now boomeranged in the form of instability. Predicting the changes in the "fashion conscious" tastes of present day consumers is a task of no little magnitude. Since the fluctuations of employment require govern mental participation in the affairs of the Industry, taking the form of unemployment insurance payments in this case; the California Employment Bureau, due to the magnitude of these payments, is now taking a very active interest in the problem of eliminating their necessity at least In part. Table V on the following page serves to illustrate 56 TABLE V UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PAYMENTS , STATE OF CALIFORNIA, MARCH THROUGH OCTOBER, 1949* Month Amount paid for the month to Non durable Apparel all industries March $28,477,873 $4,092,301 $572,951 April 24,067,150 3,517,082 638,697 May 22,767,680 3,478,703 9 1 0 ,6 8 8 June 22,156,549 3,928,701 1,177,951 July 19,699,233 3.592,632 1,060,647 August 20,604,850 3.127,278 855,315 September 17,897,935 2,209,995 603,464 October 16,136,811 2,008,567 529,778 Total payments: 171,808,081 25,955*259 6,349,491 Per cent of total.4$ going to garment workers Per cent of non 25$ durable payments going to garment workers About 75 per cent of the employers of the state are subject to the payroll tax, so these figures are based upon this portion of the total number of employers in the state. ♦California State Department of Employment. ' 57 the magnitude of said payments. The Unions--broad policy. We shall open our dis cussion of Unions in the Los Angeles Garment Industry by first examining the basic policies of the parent Unions involved. The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, and the International Ladies Garment Workers Unions will be the organizations upon which our discussion will be centered. Since the basic policies of the parent bodies and the locals of the respective Unions are intimately entwined, a discussion of parent body broad policy will suffice also for the corresponding locals concerned. The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America Union, presently in its twenty-sixth year of operation, has the primary purpose of obtaining the best possible wages and working conditions for all the workers in the clothing and related industries. In negotiating its contracts, the Union has followed several fundamental principles. They are as follows: 1. Every contract must provide impartial machinery for the peaceful settlement of disputes. 2. The Union must live up to its contracts if it is to maintain its position of power in the Garment Industry. 3. While seeking the best possible terms for its 58 members# contractual agreements must bear a close relation ship to the existing clothing market# and take into consid eration the highly competitive nature of the Garment In dustry. As the necessity has arisen the Union has found it desirable to give financial and technical aid to employers# the purpose of such aid being to help keep them in busi ness, and in doing so protect the jobs of Union members. The Amalgamated Union has recently contributed to the program of Industry stabilization through the organization of a special research and technical department devoted en tirely to problems of production costs and marketing condi tions in the Garment Industry. The Union has invited manufacturers of men’s clothing in the different market areas to assign their production experts to cooperate with the Union in this attempt to equalize labor costs between competing markets. Amalgamated has achieved collective bargaining agreements with some 90 per cent of the employers engaged in the manufacture of men's clothing. These agreements contain the following typical conditions: 1. The Union is the recognized spokesman for all employees working in' the plant. 2. Maximum hours are definitely set# and minimum 59 or basic rates of pay are established for the protection of all workers. 3* Agreements though they may run for two or three years, generally provide that either side may, once a year at a stipulated time, ask for a revision of wage terms; due notice of such a desired revision being made in suffi cient time to make intelligent and fair action possible. 4. Provision is made for fair and equitable divi sion of work during slack periods among all employees. 5. Strikes and lockouts are outlawed during the life of the agreement, disputes not settled by direct negotiations between Union and Management being submitted to arbitration. 6. Permanent 1 1 arbitration machinery" is estab lished— the same consisting of an impartial chairman selected by agreement of Union and Management. The utilization of arbitration machinery in the form of the impartial chairman has been an Amalgamated practice throughout the greater part of the Union's existence, and has been gradually accepted by a great many industries, and their Unions. The impartial chairman, preferably a person of high standing in the community, an economist of note, or a social worker of national reputation, is usually selectee 60 by the Union and Management in the various important markets. He is paid jointly by both sides and receives a steady and adequate compensation. He is thus enabled to give ample time and study to the Industry, the people in it, and the prevailing general conditions. The deci sions of the impartial chairman, in the light of his familiarity with the problems concerned, are thus likely to represent workable solutions. During the term of the agreement between Union and Management such complaints or disputes as may arise are first taken up at a meeting between the shop'committee and the foreman immediately concerned. If no solution is arrived at, the Union's representative or business agent confers with the manager. If there still is no settlement, the matter is submitted to arbitration. In the experience of Amalgamated most grievances are usually adjusted before the arbitration stage is reached. The plant involved stays in operation, and no working time is lost during the entire period required to adjust a given dispute. De- cisions of the arbitrator, when required, are retroactive to the time of presentation of the complaint. It was the policy at inception for Amalgamated to organize on a broad industrial scale. It was thought that workingmen in a given locality engaged in any one of the 61 tailoring trades should be organized in one big local Union instead of in many small ones. Subdivision into branches was to be at member convenience. The big trade locals resulting from this subdivision were to unite in a very close alliance, thus a solidified and powerful or ganization of the entire Industry was to be effected. Throughout the years of its existence, Amalgamated has held the position emphasized at its first convention, namely, that the greatest protection for workers can be achieved only where all the workers employed in a given industry are united in one organization. It has been the conviction of Amalgamated that the well-being of its members is allied significantly with conditions pertaining in the entire labor movement. For this reason the Union, in addition to having organized the men’s clothing workers, has also been actively promot ing the organization of workers in related Industries. Perhaps the greatest single contribution to a re lated industry has been the cooperation of Amalgamated with the Textile Workers Organizing Committee In its efforts to organize the textile workers. The task of bringing organization to the Textile Industry has been described as one of the most difficult ones undertaken by organized labor. To this effort Amalgamated has rallied 62 with full support, and virtual fulfillment of the organiz ing program for this industry is a present-day reality. The International Ladies Garment Workers Union, an organization whose history dates back to June 1900, has as its theme the waging of a fight for the "life and liberty" of its members; as well as assisting all organized workers in America plus the members of the working class the world over in the fight for this same "life and liberty." I.L.G.W.U's constant fight for fair wages and hours is supplemented by a number of other Union program objec tives, among these being some that are distinctive I.L.G. W.U. firsts. This Union was the first to establish a Union Health Center, a Membership Welfare Fund, an Edu cation Department, a Vacation Resort for workers, a Manage ment Engineering Department, a Research Department, an In- Service Training Program for Union officials, a Union Handbook Publication, and a Publication concerning the financial activities and status of both general and local offices. ' David Dubinsky's Union is so outstanding because of the worker benefit's phase of its over-all program that the same warrants no little emphasis. The I.L.G.W.U. believes today that the pursuit of 6 3 happiness depends more than ever on wiping out social illiteracy# and attaining civic and political maturity. Education for freedom and education for social planning must be provided so that the peoples of the world may understand each other and together control the forces of the atom. Citizens of our nation must be prepared for active participation in civic life so that the scourge of fascism may never again be revived. Simultaneously# there must be planning for an era in which technological progress will insure additional leisure, and for the extension of facilities for the enjoy ment of this time. These goals may be reached through an educational program whose mission is not only to prepare young men and women for business and industry# but also for living in its broadest social implications. The I.L.G.W.U. Education Department has continued in the postwar period with its vigorous prewar educational program. Classes in literature# economics# history# social legislation and international problems, music# art, drama tics, and dancing, to name some# all flourish under the guiding hands of the Education Department leaders. Special courses on the wartime growth of trade unionism have been added to the regular trade union classes. 64 Continued emphasis is placed upon the Officer’s Qualifica tion Courses, which prepare members for Union office. Trade union classes for new members, long a part of the curriculum, have become mandatory in such cities as Knox ville, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Dallas, in order to assure an alert and intelligent postwar Union membership. The dramatic efforts of I.L.G.W.U. members are an outstanding representation of the recreational accomplish ments of the UniQn. In 1936 a small theatre was acquired by the Union for its presentation of the musical produc tion, "Pins and Needles." Subsequently the production played to capacity audiences for two years on Broadway, as well as being presented on a very successful cross country good-will tour. A second dramatic offering, "I Hear America Singing,' was presented at the opening session of the 1940 conven tion and played a repeat performance to a capacity audience at Madison Square Garden. In the field of fine arts enthusiastic reviews ac claimed the art exhibits sponsored by I.L.G.W.U. students in New York, New Jersey, and Canada. In New York the art members of Locals 22 and 91 drew wide public attention and comment. The public concerts given by the I.L.G.W.U. chorus and mandolin orchestra were received with similar 65 enthusiasm. The Union's very famous recreational center, Unity House, is another outstanding recreational feature of I.L.G.W.U. This million dollar vacation center, located on 850 acres in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and operated on a non-profit basis, provides the best for unionist and their guests at rates which all workers are able to pay. Each summer outstanding lecturers, enter tainers, concert artists, dancers, and sports champions are invited to Unity House where they draw enthusiastic audiences to the lecture halls, open-air theatres, athletic fields, tennis courts, and lake. The Union Health Center, established In 1 9 1 6, and today an institution which provides therapeutic and diag nostic services for some 175>000 I.L.G.W.U. members is the Union's guarantee for worker "good health." This institution's activities very effectively round out the over-all activities of the Union; the same of which are directed towards supplying the general welfare needs of the I.L.G.W.U. membership. I.L.G.W.U., like the aforementioned Amalgamated, is a typical representative of today's proponents of progressive unionism. This Union is a strong advocate of cordial Unlon-Management relations. Partially due to 66 the efforts of this Union, there have been no large-scale strikes in the Garment Industry since 1936. Differences are settled by men seated at conference tables; contracts are negotiated while work goes on in the shops. The local Union scene. The Los Angeles representa tive of the International Ladies Garment Union is in actuality a composite body. It consists of Locals, four in number, from the Sportswear, Cotton Garment, Under garment, and Accessories Trades. A Joint Council ties these Locals together in a manner to make them a cohesive working unit. It was in the year 1937 that the first of the afore mentioned Locals, Local 266, came into being. A nucleus of 150 members got this body launched with its activities that were to subsequently bring a total of five thousand members under its wing; and to make way for the establish ment of the other three Locals which comprise, the addition al Joint Council membership. As is true bf some of the other Unions, the Los Angeles Locals found the period of the last war a very significant one in the fight for real recognition. This War period and the immediate postwar period witnessed the greatest gains for the Los Angeles locals. These gains were not made without a struggle however. In the summer of 1947 negotiations for a new con tract of far reaching effect were begun by the Union. ^ Some of the improvements contracted for by the Union were as follows: 1. An eight cents an hour increase over and above established piece rate levels. 2 . An additional paid holiday for the workers (rais ing their holidays with pay to six). 3 . Improved provisions for price settlement, so that the price agreements could be speedily reached. s<~ 4. Additional 2 . 5 per cent employer contribution to the Union Health and Vacation Fund; this increased contribution being earmarked for the establishment of a Union Health Center. This last item contracted for was undoubtedly of most singular importance, because it has made the estab lishment of a Union Health Center a present reality. A strike involving some twelve thousand workers was necessary in order to effect the aforementioned contract. The employer group brought various suits against the Union claiming millions of dollars in damages. In the end, however, the suits were dismissed, and the Union won its demands. As a result of this strike, the Union won in addition to the member benefits included in the new 68 contract, 1*407 new members from sixty-nine factories; u eleven shops formerly Union were reorganized* with 273 members being brought back to the Union, and a brand new ^ type of recognition was accorded the Union due to its dis play of unity. After establishing itself as a worthy representa tive of the workers in the various Trades of the Los Angeles Garment Industry* the Union has been able to en gage in various pursuits for the benefit of its members; fortunately not with the antagonism of the employer group, but instead with the general cooperation of this group. The labor relations picture in the Los Angeles area today presents a substantial element of cooperation. Generally speaking, both worker and employer groups accept one anothers programs with the knowledge that neither can operate as a belligerent entity. Like their parent body, the Local Unions of I.L.G. W.U. have a program of worker benefits that is definitely worthy of discussion. One such benefit is the issuance of vacation checks to members with the coming of each summer. This policy began in 1946 and has been growing ever since. In the year 1947, for example, members of Local 266 numbering 3,200 received $97,000 in vacation 69 benefits. The following year witnessed expansion. In the year 1948 this same Local paid out $ 1 0 9 ,0 0 0 . The year 1949 brought a new high for such p a y m en ts--$ 1 3 5*000 being disbursed. In this year payment-s included awards to members of other Locals in the Los Angeles Joint Council, the same of whom had also been brought into the program. The year 1950 brought further payment increases, $ 1 4 0 ,0 0 0 being paid out to 4 ,5 0 0 Union members.7 A life insurance policy of five hundred dollars is an automatic benefit of membership. There is a good chance of an increase being voted at the next convention of the International Union. Members, in addition to life insurance benefits, are also entitled to a ten dollar per week health benefit for a period up to eight weeks of disabling illness. In conjunction with this there is a hospital benefit of three dollars per day for every day up to a maximum of twenty-one days in a given year. In 1947, three hundred members received Health and 7 Report to the Members (Los Angeles: I.L.G.W.U., 1 9 5 0 ), p.“T T TO Hospital checks amounting to $18,000. The following year $22,000 was paid out to 350 members; and in 1949 checks totaling $3 1 ,0 0 0 were issued to 515 members.8 About two years ago the Los Angeles Locals institute^ something rather unique in member benefits— a Union Blood Bank. Now only a call to the central office brings needed blood to a given member. Savings in dollars and worry are notable attributes of the bank. The Los Angeles Locals now can commend themselves for another achievement in the field of member benefits, this one having the element of broad public service— a radio station set up in November, 1948. This station, K.F.M.V., one of the three frequency modulation stations operated by the International Union, is devoted to public service programs. The station frequently broadcasts special programs dealing with the affairs of the Los Angeles Locals and has run a number of features on other sections of the Labor Movement. Station K.F.M.V. has received many awards for its outstanding programs. The Los Angeles Locals have a counterpart to the parent body as concerns their education program for 8 IkM* • » P* 12* 71 members— another noteworthy benefit. The very active Union Education Department has, for example, classes for new members, the same of which are designed to teach the new arrivals what the Union stands for, how it operates, and what its benefits are. There are advanced classes in Officer Training to keep the chairman, chairladies, and active members informed on how they can best serve the Union in their respective capacities. Often educators from one of the local universities are called upon to give lectures to Union members, and in lieu of this pro cedure, arrangements are made for a group of members to attend lectures at private halls or universities. There is a social side to the program of the Educa tion Department. Picnics, dances, parties, and open house displays are all activities promoted by the Education De partment. In addition members are encouraged to attend theatre and concert performances. The Los Angeles Locals are engaged in other activi ties that represent member benefits on a broad plane, the program of Union Political Education being one such activity. These Locals are participating members in the United A.F.L. Voter’s League of Los Angeles, which is part of Labor's League of Political Education. Besides encouraging support at the polls for friends of Labor 72 (which one would naturally expect), the program of Politi cal Education involves the detailed study of problems political which are of concern to Union members and non members alike. In addition to participating in political affairs which have a national as well as local characteristic, the Los Angeles Locals concern themselves with community problems— race relations being an outstanding example of the problems approached. Since the establishment of the Los Angeles Locals, a stand has been taken for equality and justice for all people. Here, the Locals have been active in the Central Labor Council's Labor Committee to Combat Intolerance; also close cooperation has been given such groups as the Los Angeles County Conference on Community Relations, the Urban League, the Community Service Organization, the Jewish Labor Committee, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The unfortunate of the community get material aid from the Locals through the medium of regular contributions to orphanages, homes for the aged, disease combating or ganizations, and etc. It was in the year 1921 that the first Los Angeles Local of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union was 73 established. This original Local has been expanded to a present-day total of seven. The membership of these seven Locals totals four thousand workers. All Trades in the Men's Garment segment of the over-all Los Angeles Garment Industry are duly represented in the membership of the Locals. As pertains in the case of the previously dis cussed I.L.G.W.U., a Joint Board ties the various Locals into a cohesive organization. The national constitution of Amalgamated requires the establishment of a Joint Board when a given organized area achieves two or more Locals, so the establishment of the Joint Board in the Los Angeles area was not entirely a matter of local expedience. The Locals comprise a very effective bargaining agency for their four thousand members. Compulsory arbitration is in force in this segment of the Industry just as it is in the rest. The last twenty-six years of strike free Management-Labor relations attest the effectiveness of the bargaining operations as carried on by the Union with Management. Just as Is applicable to the over-all industry, Union-Management cooperation is an outstanding characteristics of the labor relations picture of this Trade segment. Like the previously discussed I.L.G.W.U., 74 Amalgamated has a definite program directed towards the general welfare of its members. For example, a compre hensive member insurance program is in effect. Payments for hospitalization are provided for under one phase of this program. These payments include a maximum outlay of $150 for surgery, and in the case of maternity confine ment, $6 .0 0 per day up to a maximum of thirty days. Members are availed of a death policy paying $500 to decedants. This policy is an automatic privilege of membership. No contribution in addition to regular dues is necessary in order to place this policy in force. By way of retirement benefit, Amalgamated has for its members an employer financed retirement plan, the same of which pays a flat sum of $50 per month to a re tired member. In order to be eligible for such payment, a member must have reached the age of 6 5, been in any part of the industry (geographically speaking) for twenty years, and in the Union Local concerned for at least ten years. The Los Angeles Locals have an education program for their members in the respect that Union history and purpose is taught to especially the new members in the organization; and the members are kept current with the news of the day through the medium of discussing the same 75 in the meetings of the Locals. Amalgamated in Los Angeles assures the political awareness of its members through the planned discussion of political problems, and also through affiliation with the Political Action Committee. Support at the polls is sought from members on propositions of particular concern to the Labor Movement. Support for aspiring representatives of government, who are alleged friends of Labor, is of course also encouraged. The financial needs of the members of Amalgamated’s Locals are provided for by the operation of a federal chartered loan association. At the present time this loan agency has $7 0 ,0 0 0 outstanding in loans to members of the various Los Angeles Locals. A quite reasonable interest rate of 5 per cent'is charged members borrowing suras up to $5 0 0; sums over $500 carry a charge of 4.5 per cent. Amalgamated has an inherent interest in the welfare of minority groups, and with this concern a desire to see the living standard of all peoples continuously raised to new heights. This regard for the welfare of minority groups arises from the fact that the Union made its start with a predominantly immigrant membership. Though a second generation has replaced the original immigrant group, the struggles experienced by these first members have not been forgotten. Exemplifying this regard for the welfare of minority groups, particularly, the Los Angeles Locals of Amalgamated are staunch supporters of such organizations as the American Committee for Jewish Relief, the Urban League, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. CHAPTER IV MANAGEMENT / In the previous chapter the various aspects of labor in the Garment Industry were discussed. As a more or less natural adjunct to the discussion on labor, we now begin an examination of the management function./ In the course of the discussion the small producer will be singled out for special attention. This special treatment is accorded the small producer because of his importance in the over-all Industry picture, and also because of the criticism he sometimes brings to the over-all Industry. Management-aids, or the Trade Associations. An examination of the Trade Association's register compiled and distributed by the Domestic Trade Department of .the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, demonstrates the presence of numerous Apparel Trade Associations in the. Los Angeles area. As of July, 19^9 there existed in the register some \ twenty-seven Apparel Trade Associations. The various Trade segments of the Los Angeles Industry are well represented In the list of Apparel Trade Associations for our area. For example, Sportswear manu facturers are represented by the Associated Sportswear Manufacturers of Los Angeles, and by the California 78 Sportswear and Dress Association Inc. Boy's Wear manu facturers are represented by the Boy's Apparel Guild in California. The Los Angeles Coat and Suit Manufacturer's Association duly represents this Industry segment. Men's Apparel Guild in California represents the Men's Apparel manufacturers. The Washable Apparel manufacturers are represented by the Washable Apparel Associates. The functions of these Apparel Trade Associations concern such activities, for example, as statistical data collection (Pacific Coast Garment Manufacturers); settle ment of labor problems (this function featured in the activities of the California Sportswear and Dress Associa tion Inc.); and sales promotion, the outstanding function of the California Apparel Creators. Since the California Apparel Creators Association is the most comprehensive in scope, and probably the most important because of its noteworthy activities along the line of "made in California," brand promotion, we place emphasis upon this organization. The California Apparel Creators is the over-all organization of the Southern California Apparel Industry. It consists of some three hundred apparel manufacturing members. A general election once a year establishes the Board of Trustees for the organization, this board to 79 function for the duration of the ensuing year. The Board of Trustees, proportionately representing the mem bers of the various Trade segments who are associated with the organization, elects a Board Chairman, who like the Board members has a one year tenure of office. The Board Chairman appoints an executive committee, the same of which is responsible for planning, and general forma tion of policy for the organization. The California Ap parel Creator's main office located at 756 South Broadway in Los Angeles, is under the supervision of a non-manufac turing Executive Director. The California Apparel Creators was formed to serve the interest of some fifteen hundred manufacturers in this area. The organization coordinates those activities which are best handled on an industry-wide basis. Its offices are maintained as headquarters for visiting buyers, fashion press, and member firms. Realizing the need for a strong organization to correlate individual activities, publicity and service k to store buyers, California Apparel Creators was launched in 1943, with a Board of Trustees comprising leading manufacturers in the Industry. An Executive Director was appointed, a News Bureau set up for dissemination of fashion news and pictures, and a Market Representative 80 chosen to contact manufacturers, assist buyers and coordin ate the various events taking place at the time of concen trated showings. In the few short years of the organization's exis tence, it has become recognized the world over as a source of information on all subjects pertaining to the California Industry. Every day buyers contact the Apparel Creators; editors of magazines, newspapers and trade press, as well as radio and screen people, contact it for information, pictures, facts and data. Here they can get an exact over all picture without making hundreds of calls to individual manufacturers. One of the services accomplished through the or ganization has been the building of sales through California promotions in leading stores all over the country. The California theme has been used and Califor nia designs displayed in an authentic background. The California Apparel Creators organization has sincere plans for the maintenance of California's fashion center status as is witnessed by its school program. Through the Association, the Industry gave impetus to the establishment of a School of Apparel Design at the University of California at Los Angeles. Frank Wiggins is an outstanding example of a school receiving full 81 cooperation from California Apparel Creators with its design training program. From the schools of design, the Industry plans to draw future designing talent. Another eye-to-the-future phase of the organiza tion's program is the cooperation of member manufacturers with the United States Employment Service to recruit labor to fill present needs and to meet future demands. To accomplish this, special power machine classes have been instituted in high schools. The name "California'1 on labels has been the manu facturers trademark of quality, and a great deal of time, money and effort have been spent in order to build con sumer demand for the label. Court action was instituted against out-of-state firms wishing to cash in on the sales value of the California label. Today the Industry, through the California Apparel Creators, forges ahead to protect its name, and behind it marches many civic organizations that also wish to make the California name stand for quality and honest workmanship. In order to demonstrate the scope and success of this organization, one has to but mention the influence and drawing power of its concentrated showings. The California Apparel Creators' January, 1950 "market period" attracted buyers from such diverse sections of the globe 82 as Tokyo, Hawaii, South America, Mexico, and Canada, to name a few. The number of buyers who were present in our market during this promotional period totaled some three thousand, their coming being at the direct instiga tion of the California Apparel Creators Association. Small producer dominated Los Angeles Garment Indus try, and the financial problems of these producers. As has been demonstrated in the "Decentralization" section of this study, the Los Angeles Garment Industry is one predominantly composed of small producers. In many In stances these producers are in possession of a very limited amount of working capital (a mere $5 0 0, for example) . - * ■ • These manufacturers, in many Instances expert de signers or craftsmen, but not particularly adept business men, are engaged in operations involving a definitely high degree of risk. Competition is keen, the demand for the product is seasonal in nature, and the artificial perish ability factor of fashion plagues their efforts to dispose 1 "Los Angeles' Little Cutter," Fortune, 31:182, May, 1945. 83 of their product in a profitable manner. Those with a relatively small amount of working capital are virtually forced into single line production. Placing ’ ’ all their eggs in one basket" on the part of these producers, instead of spreading the risk over more than one product, has the effect of maximizing the chance of failure. In the event the sole product manufactured does not find a ready market, unprofitable (and possibly ruinous) liquidation is a likely prospect. These manu facturers, also, have little opportunity to lower unit cost through the medium of expansion, as only a small amount of their returns can be employed for expansional purposes. Since these small producers in the Los Angeles area are not in a position to take advantage of some of the larger business economies like mass buying, and volume selling, for example, their financial needs are acute. Because of their size, coupled with the fact that the operations in which they are engaged have a generally regarded high risk factor, the small producers of the Los Angeles Garment Industry experience more than a little difficulty in obtaining credit. A rather costly method of obtaining working capital is employed by these manufacturers, namely, factoring their receivables. In 84 addition to being expensive, factoring has another draw back in that no cash is provided for the designing and processing stages of production. Money is not forthcoming until garments have been shipped and invoices turned over to the lending agency. The factoring method of obtaining working capital does have one advantage, however, especially as pertains to a producer with much designing talent, but not in pos session of outstanding business'ability. If such a pro ducer employs the "without recourse" type of factoring, the lending agency will assume the responsibility of collecting the amount owed on the receivable from the manufacturer’s customer. The producer is thus relieved of the responsibility of collection with its attendant expenditure of effort. The producer’s effort can better be directed towards the production of a readily salable garment. Local financiers single out for criticism the very small, late entrant manufacturers of our Los Angeles Industry. These producers of the postwar vintage are the particularly low-capitalized Industry members who originally geared their operations to the lush "seller's market" conditions of the period immediately following World War II. 85 Planning, market analysis, cost control, and the many other business practices generally associated with efficient operation were never seriously considered by these manufacturers. At the time of their entrance into the garment making field, the demand for their product was so high, and the break-even point so low that truly efficient operation of their plant was not a requirement for profitable returns. These small, weakly capitalized producers have been guilty of abusing their credit privileges. Textile manu facturers, equipment producers, commercial loaning insti tutions, and banks have all been exploited to the fullest in their quest for funds or supplier credit. Some have been known to approach financiers for loans with adverse- ratioed balance sheets (current liabilities in excess of current assets). These manufacturers, in many instances possessors of readily salable garment creations, have allowed their en thusiasm for the one type of garment they are able to produce (lack of capital preventing diversification) to lead them to dangerous over-production. What with the emphasis upon fashion to be found in the Industry, along with the sometimes sudden changes it is responsible for, such over-production is not by any means difficult to 86 achieve. Further criticism of these small producers centers around their almost complete unawareness of costs of manufacture. Some of them have been known to completely fabricate their product without any advance knowledge of finished product cost. A remark of such a producer serves to illustrate this lack of knowledge on costs. Said this producer to one of the plant assistants: "That is a beautiful creation* I wonder what is its cost?" Loaning agencies* or the source of funds for the Industry. The foregoing discussion has emphasized the shortcomings of the particularly small producer of the Los Angeles Garment Industry. These producers with their operational weaknesses experience no little difficulty in obtaining funds. In order not to present a distorted picture of the Industry* however* it can be said that a few producers of the Industry do not have to .resort to "shoestring" financing. This solid minority of producers have a regular line of credit that affords* them long term loans if necessary* these being of the unsecured type. Because of the capital structure of some of these manu facturers* only limited use of this credit line is re quired. For those who qualify a reasonably varied source 87 of funds exists. For example, two financial institutions in the Los Angeles area are a source of bank funds for the Los Angeles Garment Industry. These are the Union Bank and Trust Company, located at 760 South Hill Street, and the Bank of America, located at Ninth and Los Angeles Streets. The latter is a branch specializing in the provision of funds for the Needle Trades, and furnishes the bulk of the Industry's funds in the Los Angeles area. Loans to the Los Angeles producers are basically of a short run nature; seasonal loans are made to many operators on a continuous basis, and some few are availed of long term loans. In the case of those who avail them selves of the seasonal type of loan, Fall and Spring are the two periods when banks expect full liquidation. This is the policy of loaning banks because Fall and Spring are the two most intensive periods of merchandising activity in the Industry, and accordingly the borrowing manufacturers are best able to liquidate their indebted ness during these two periods of the year. The banks as one would expect thoroughly investi gate the prospective borrower before any funds are made available to him. The three "C's" of credit; character, capacity, and capital are basic inquiries of the banks as concerns the loan eligibility of a given manufacturer, 88 and the investigation carried on by the banks is well augmented by the credit reports made available to them by the National Credit Office Incorporated. This organi zation releases credit reports on the various producers of the Garment Markets in all parts of the country. There are several extra-bank sources of funds for the Los Angeles garment manufacturers, one of note being the Pacific Finance Corporation. This financial institu tion, specializing in commercial loans, has a separate department devoted to apparel factoring. Both the "with recourse," and the "without recourse" types of factoring systems are employed by this corporation in the extension of loans to manufacturers. (In the first type the manu facturer uses his accounts receivable as collateral for the loan; in the second type the manufacturer sells his accounts to the financier, who in turn collects from the customer.) The Industry has also been financed by local converters who buy greige goods from mills and send it out to be dyed, printed and finished. They have carried many accounts "on the cuff" for months, until goods could be made into a product for the banks to factor. Such outstanding textile producers and jobbers as Charles Rothstein, Rube Hoffman, Frank McNeill (representative 89 of large eastern mills), and Norma Greer (Celanese Corp.) have been instrumental in the extension of liberal credit on textile raw materials to the various garment manufac turers of the Los Angeles area. Success of the management function as reflected in business failures♦ What with the emphasis placed upon , the questionable operations of the particularly small producer of the Los Angeles Garment Industry, the impres sion might prevail that the over-all Industry of our area is of defective financial structure, and fares badly under management's guidance. In order to explore the possible validity of such an impression, an examination will be made of the failure records of manufacturers of the Southern California Garment Industry, of which Los Angeles manufacturers are an integral part. Before considering the failure record of the Garment Industry in Southern California, let us first by way of orientation, make a comparative examination of the failure records of the Garment Industry as a whole, and other in- I dustries broadly related to the Garment Industry. This examination result is presented in tabular form on the following page. The findings are as follows: 1. For the year 19^7 the failure per ten thousand establishments in the combined Textile and Apparel 90 TABLE VI FAILURE RECORDS AND LIABILITIES OF SELECTED MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1947* Failures per Liabilities Industry ten thousand attending establishments** faulure s - (Millions) Food and kindred products 27 1 9 .2 Paper, printing and publishing 10 1 .1 Lumber and lumber products 52 14.1 Chemicals and allied products 59 9 .8 Stone, clay and glass products 27 0 .2 Leather and leather products 89 2.7 Transportation equipment 135 10.4 Textile mill products and apparel 28 5.3 ♦Dun and Bradstreet, Incorporated Business Failure Report based on the listings in its Register of Business Enterprises; also U. S. Bureauof the Census, Census of Manufactures, 1 9 4 7. ♦♦Failures per ten thousand ratio was established as a convenient common denominator. In some cases less than ten thousand establishments exist in the United States. 91 Industries were among the four lowest of the selected industries considered. 2. Since the combined Textile and Apparel Indus tries had only one more failure per ten thousand estab lishments than two of the three industries with better failure records, it can be said on the basis of this I examination that the Textile and Apparel Industries have a failure record not appreciably worse than those indus tries broadly related to them. 3. There exists no evidence here of comparatively low financial stability of the Textile and Apparel Indus tries relative to other industries in their general group. 1 4. Though regrettably the information presented | I on attendant liabilities is not truly comparative (no common relation of liabilities to assets is presented), the combined Textile and Apparel Industries stand in a position of the lowest four from the standpoint of liabili ties attending failures. We now enter a discussion of the comparative failure record of the combined Textile and Apparel Industries, as concerns these industries and selected ones to be associat ed with them in the Southern California area. By way of clarification, the following conditions pertain in this examination (some of these conditions likewise pertain in 92 the examination immediately preceding this one): 1. Business failures represent the number of firms involved in court proceedings, or voluntary actions, which are likely to end in losses to creditors. 2. Specifically, the Dun and Bradstreet record of failures employed in this examination includes discontin uances following assignment,-voluntary or involuntary petition in bankruptcy, attachment, execution, foreclosure, etc; enterprises voluntarily withdrawing from business with known loss to creditors; enterprises involved in court action, such as receivership (since June, 1934) and reorganization or arrangement, which may or may not lead to discontinuance; and businesses making voluntary com promises with creditors out of court. 3* The liabilities incurred in business failures represent primarily current indebtedness. 4. For the purpose of the failure record, current liabilities are defined as including not only all accounts and notes payable, but also all obligations, whether in secured form or not, known to be held by banks, officers, affiliated companies, supplying companies, or the govern ment . 5 . For the purpose of this Dun and Bradstreet report, Southern California is made up of the following counties: 93 Inyo, Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, and San Diego. The aforementioned examination of failures in the Southern California area is presented in tabular form on the following page. The findings of this presentation are the following: 1. The combined Textile and Apparel Industries in the Southern California area compare favorably with other broadly related industries of the area from the standpoint of financial stability as reflected in failure records. 2. The combined Textile and Apparel Industries had in the period considered the third lowest record of failures per thousand establishments; and their establish ments failure rate was reasonably comparable to the best performing industries. 3. The combined Textile and Apparel Industries had a failure record in relation to similar industries in the United States not appreciably worse than the other Southern California industries examined. 4. The liabilities attending failures record of the combined Textile and Apparel Industries for the period examined was the third poorest of the industries considered. 5. Conforming with the foregoing, the combined 94 TABLE VII BUSINESS FAILURES OF SELECTED SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES , 1947* Failures per Industry thousand establ.♦♦ Failures as per cent of U.S. total Liabil. attending failures (000) left out Liabil. as per cent of U.S. total 1 Food and kindred products 12 1 3 .0 $3,338 17.4 Paper, printing, and publishing 4 15.6 244 21.3 Lumber, and lumber products 4o 21.3 2,825 20.0 Chemicals, and allied products 11 10.2 225 2.3 Stone, clay, and glass products 7 16.1 74 4.3 Leather, and leather products 21 8.5 132 4.9 transportation equipment 25 20.0 582 5*6 textile mill prods., and apparel 12 15-7 1,417 26.7 ♦Dun and Bradstreet, Incorporated Business Failure Report based on the listings in this firm's Register of Business Enterprises; also, U. S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Manufactures, 194-7. Failure Report made up especi ally for the Security First National Bank of Los Angeles by ;>un and Bradstreet Incorporated. ♦♦Failures per thousand for convenience. Some few of not have a thousand firms in establishments ratio chosen the industries presented do the Southern Californiaarea. 95 Textile and Apparel Industries in Southern California stood the highest in regard to liabilities as a percentage of the United States total (for a given industry group). This last condition would seem to indicate that the comparative youth of the Apparel Industry, particularly, (in the Textile and Apparel combination) with its attend ant high-risk entry, is paying off in the form of relative ly high failure liabilities. On the basis of the data presented, it can be said that the Southern California Garment Industry has at least financial stability not far inferior to that of broadly related Southern California manufacturing industries. This pertains whether one is making a direct comparison with other Southern California industries, or a comparison involving relative performances of given Southern Califor nia industries with their national counterparts. Since the management function has a significant affect upon the success of an enterprise's operations, it can be stated that the failure record of our Southern California Garment Industry suggests that the Industry is in the hands of reasonably efficient management. CHAPTER V GROWTH OF THE LOS ANGELES GARMENT INDUSTRY The growth picture of the Los Angeles Garment Industry is typified by highly significant development of the component Trades of the over-all industry. Actually, the most important aspect of the rapid develop ment of our Industry is the spectacular growth of a select number of Trades within the structure. Isolation, or separate consideration of the developmental pattern of the over-all Industry tends to underemphasize progress made to date. This applies because ours is not yet a volume Industry comparable to behomoths like New York and Chicago. Separate consideration of select Trades within the over-all Industry has the opposite effect, since for example, our Dress and Women's Coat and Suit Trades have skyrocketed to a position of national leadership. Over-all growth of the Los Angeles Industry. As has been suggested before, the Los Angeles ‘ Garment Indus try has a developmental history that spans a relatively short period of time. Only twenty-three existing firms in the Los Angeles area, out of a total of thirteen hundred, have a history that dates back to the 1920 era.-*- It was 1 "Los Angeles' Little Cutters," op. cit., p. 13^* 97 not until the early 1930's that the Industry began to show definite signs of casting off its neophyte status and as suming the position of a genuine national contender. Be fore the period of the 1930's the Los Angeles market consisted predominantly of a group of exceedingly small and independent garment creators, basically of artistic character, and not very deeply endowed with business acumen. The over-all Industry sales volume in the year 1939 of $67 million served notice on the rest of the garment manufacturing industry that the Los Angeles market was a coming contender. 2 By the year 1944, this over-all volume had been expanded to over $200 million. This five-year span, in other words, saw an increase of about three times in volume. The period from 1944 to 1948, with its continued gains, pushed the sales volume of the Los Angeles Industry to a new high of approximately $400 million. Part of this increase was due to the war boom, but the postwar period also contributed markedly to the 1944 to 1948 gain. 2 Census of Manufactures, Vol. 3> 1939 (Washington, D. C.: United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1942), p. 3 7. 98 The $400 million sales volume of 1948 represented approxi mately a 200 per cent increase over 19 44.8 The growth of the various Trades within the Industry structure♦ Considering first the highly important Dress Trade in the Los Angeles area, ours is the youngest and the fastest growing market of all the Dress manufacturing areas. In the year 1939» Los Angeles had some seventy- eight firms engaged in the manufacture, of dresses, the same having a sales volume of $13*400,000. By 1946 this Trade segment had multiplied to 314 manufacturers with sales of $100 million. The year 1946 witnessed the ascen sion of our Dress Trade to the position of third national ly, the same of which is maintained today. ^Illustrating the previously mentioned youth factor that makes the pro gress of this Trade segment so outstanding, only nineteen of Los Angeles 1 314 manufacturers have been in business twenty years or more. Virtually 80 per cent have been producing dresses for about ten years or less; and 50 per cent of the firms have entered the field since 1942. 3 "Los Angeles' Little Cutters," loc. cit. ^ National Credit Office Inc. Reports, The Dress Industry, loc. cit. 99 Our Dress Trade segment, like the rest of the Trade segments of the over-all Los Angeles Industry, has made its notable progress on the basis of the contributions of individually low-volume producers. The average volume per Los Angeles producer in the year 1946 was only $319*000, as compared to a national industry average of $5 1 9,0 0 0. In this same year nearly 53 per cent of the concerns in .the Los Angeles market voluraed less than $2 5 0,0 0 0 .5 The Los Angeles Women's Coat and Suit Trade is s another Industry segment that has made outstanding progress in a relatively short period of time. Sharp growth was experienced in this Trade segment, particularly during the period from 1939 to 1945* As is applicable to the rest of our Los Angeles Industry, this Trade segment was also of little national consequence until the late 1930's. The year 1946 saw this Trade climb to the position of the second center of importance in the nation.6 Like the previously mentioned Dress Trade, progress of this Trade is attributable to the collective efforts of 5 Ibid., p. 30. 6 "Los Angeles' Little Cutters," loc. cit. 100 many small producers. For example, in the year 19^7 the 179 firms in this Trade segment had average sales of $3 2 3*000, while the national industry average was $571*000. Here again, youth prevails in this Trade. Of the cutters concerned, 76 per cent have been in operation for ten years or less; 52 per cent have been in operation less than six years.7 The Men's and Boy's Clothing Trade of the Los Angeles area is less illustrious than the foregoing, but nonetheless is notable for its development. Except for a few small producers, the Trade hardly existed before 1920. Since 1935 though, this Los Angeles Trade has developed rapidly. In the year 1939 the producers of this Trade achieved a sales volume of only $5*200,000, this level of performance being well behind the ten major producers of the nation. By 19^ the thirty-seven Men's and Boy's Clothing Manufacturers of Los Angeles had trebled their 1939 volume, the total for this year being $17 million. By the year 19^7* this Trade had reached a $23 million sales volume* and also had pushed forward to 7 National Credit Office Inc. Reports, Women's Coats and Suits, loc. cit. 101 the national position of sixth.® Notwithstanding a sales volume that is relatively low, (compared to the New York behemoth, for example-- 1947 sales volume of $584 million) this Trade shows definite promise in that its promotional program is un rivaled by any of the other centers of the country.9 The "Hollywood influence" is being exploited to the fullest. Not surprisingly the area of emphasis is upon sport cloth ing since it is within the Movie Colony that this attire receives much attention, and correspondingly gftins for the manufacturers the most promotional impetus. Personalities who have been influential in the growth of the Industry. The famous designer Adrian, the same of whom has been named by the New York Fashion Critics to be the topmost American designer, is an out standing example of a California personality highly in fluential in the growth of our Industry. Though his product is to be associated with the highest qualitied merchandise produced by garment makers, ® National Credit Office Inc. Reports, The Men's and Boy's Clothing Industry, loc. cit. 9 Loc. cit. University of Southern California U&f&ry I 102 and his clientele is limited to those of wealthy status, (he is responsible for less than 1 per cent of the Los Angeles market's volume) the attention he has caused to be focused upon the Los Angeles Garment Industry tabs him as an individual definitely influential in the growth of our Industry. Wealthy women cross the continent in order to purchase the evening dresses, and suits with out-size shoulders created by this Los Angeles designer.10 His Beverly Hills showrooms, well staffed with models, repre sent the best in distinctive apparel display. Another personality who has done much to influence the growth of the Los Angeles Garment Industry is Edgar Stewart, head of Catalina Knitting Mills. The firm of which Mr. Stewart is president is one of the giants of our Industry. The $5 million annual volume of this firm places it well up among the leaders of the Los Angeles Industry.11 The name of Catalina is recognized all over the nation, as well as in many other places all over the globe, as being representative of the highest qualitied and styled sportswear obtainable. Undoubtedly the 10 "Los Angeles' Little Cutters," £p. cit., p. 136. 11 Ibid., p. 137- 103 contribution of Mr. Stewart and his firm in the line of sportswear is a significant factor in Los Angeles leading the rest of the garment industry in the production and sale of sportswear.12 The name of Moses Jackman must be added to the list of those whose efforts have been influential in the out standing development of the Los Angeles Garment Industry. Mr. Jackman is a notable representative of the group of manufacturers engaged in the fabrication of sportswear for men. This manufacturer got his start in Montreal, Canada where in the year 1903 he began building a men's evening-wear and fancy wasitcoat's business that was to ultimately volume over a million dollars in sales.13 Due to the poor health of his wife, in the year 1923 Mr. Jackman came to Hollywood. He continued his activities here in the field of men's garment production. Initially his efforts were directed towards the production of ultrastylized waistcoats for various film musicals. The war changed over his production from that of dressy evening-wear to casual sportswear. It is in the field of 12 "Los Angeles' Little Cutters," loc. cit. 13 Ibid., p. 182. "104 men's sportswear that he presently excels. His produc tion of men's slacks and leisure jackets tops the Industry. Closely allied to the contribution to the growth of the Los Angeles Garment Industry made by the afore mentioned Mr. Jackman is the contribution made by the team of William J. Freedman and Bernard A. BeHer in the field of men's sport shirt production. These two, now famous for their production of the Hollywood Rogue line of men's sport shirts, got their start in 1938 with only enough machines to produce fifteen dozen shirts a week. Now they do a million dollar annual business, and ship over 6 5 per cent of their product east.1^ No list involving personalities influential in the development of the Los Angeles Garment Industry would be complete without mentioning a representative of the highly important banking group. Without aid from this group, the small producer dominated Los Angeles Industry could not have developed to its present status; definitely not within such a relatively short space of time. In the early days of the Los Angeles market, money for garment production was whatever partners could produce "Los Angeles' Little Cutters," loc. cit. 105 out of personal savings, what friends could contribute in return for a share of the profits, what textile houses allowed in credit "on the cuff," or what loan sharks would venture. Even with his wife and children helping him, a cutter was in constant danger of ruin should one design fail and leave an inventory to be liquidated at 50 cents on the dollar. From 191^ to the middle thirties (at which time the Bank of America opened a branch especially to accommodate the financial needs of the Industry), a given cutter had only one real place of welcome in the banking center, this being the Union Bank and Trust Company. Ben R. Myer, President of the Union Bank and Trust Company, and godfather of the Industry, extended the not too expansive facilities of this banking institution to the needy producers. The hospitality of "Uncle Ben" was at least partially responsible for other avenues of finan cial aid being opened up to the producers of the Los Angeles Garment Industry. For example, in 1926 the Pacific Finance Corpora tion opened a special branch Ibr apparel factoring. Ten years later the Bank of America also opened a special branch that presently caters to producers who wish to borrow on their accounts receivable. 106 With the invaluable help of the personalities just discussed# and of course with the aid of many not mentioned# the Los Angeles Garment Industry has now developed to the point where in the over-all it ranks ahead of such well established centers of Cleveland and St. Louis# and behind only the behemoths, New York and Chicago.15 Our Dress Trade ranks third in the nation. Our Women's Coat and Suit Trade is second nationally.15 Our Men's and Boy's Wear Trade has climbed to the position where it stands in sixth place nationally.17 This progress is remarkable in the light of the fact that the history of the Los Angeles Garment Industry only dates back to the second decade of the present century. 15 "Los Angeles' Little Cutters#" ldc. cit. 15 Census of Manufactures# Women's Outwear, loc. cit. 17 Census of Manufactures, Men's and Boy's Suits and Coats# loc. cit. CHAPTER VI FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR THE LOS ANGELES GARMENT MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY * One can expect genuine development and noteworthy \ gains for the Los Angeles Industry in the future when i cognizance is taken of the spectacular developmental pat-; tern of our area population-wise; also as concerns ottr* over-all industry. Let us first consider the comparative growth of California manufacturing, using value added by manufacture as a yardstick. In the period from 1939 to 19^7 California had the greatest rate of growth, in value added by manu facture, of all the states in the nation. California had an increase of 256 per cent in this respect for the period mentioned, while the number of production workers increased 96 per cent. California's closest rival was the State of Wisconsin with a value added by manufacture increase of 232 per cent, and a 72 per cent increase in the number of prohuction workers.1 1 Growth in Manufactuning by State, 1 9 3 9 - 1947 (New York: Dun andBradstreet, Inc., T§^9), p. 1. 108 An examination of business population figures, employing the years 1944 through 1949# gives virtually the same result. The greatest numerical increase between 1944 and 1949 took place in New York, with a 72,000 addi tion to the business population. California had a 62,000 increase to quite closely rival this state.2 Making a broader comparison than the foregoing, the Far West made within the period March, 1944 to March, 1949 the most outstanding^ins from the standpoint of percent age change in number of firms in operation--all industries and the manufacturing industries alone. The bar charts on the following page illustrate this trend of outstanding gains for the Far West in number of business enterprises A compared with other areas of the country, and the country taken as a whole. \ The growth of population pattern of a given area is j .of importance in determining the.industrial development / prospect of the area. This pertains because a growing ( population contributes to industrial development from the ! 2 A Progress Report on New Business Enterprises in the United States, 1944 and 1949 (New York: Dun and Bradstreet, Inc., April, 1949), p. 2. J ; y1 ~'p": i j~ — t f:....rtn J-" t - t H x tftttri-i- ± t+ ± |4 # t: r —— 4— - . - j - - - - - - ...----..... — - 1 ^ X f S t T O : ' H-j+HrH+ r- Pjl <0 ' 2 d , S r i r f e r i_j , i t_ J ' : i » ! .01 Q Q H~h : H+ 4-H-H4-+44- x n i i i x n : B i ... r ....^__r .ga i .. C D ’ B P i 0 - 0 - - f j c+ c t . X T tH ± tcL t _ _ _ e+ S B C D O ^ '0 C D M C /I ■fH4fff+C |444-H-rH-i- • T ”- i 4’’ i ; r| ±±t±ti±H" -T 1 - i O Txrqx i ; in: ' t : Ui\ h_ u _ f4 4 4 4 _ j4 _T rtrtnrr ..... H ' ; 3 0 , dh C t* j - c i TT L4-LU ■.I-Cl.aSkS* ' 1 U - i - U . 1 . 1 . . U . I . . " i t t r r r r * m I L W L rr -X rrr rW* t t t z . * Hxl±i~ cj K P ^ S c i r -±t±t - 44rt‘ - r r r - L i l L L L X :1 <xtr r • i - i - . K t l - f - H - t f t i T T ' T i r T T - y " H E r V j - . - f r j - i r t r i t r ^ T - ' tJ ^ y & a —# S l ^ H > . E - i 1 , O &S Q ■ - H - r ri T r f - ' • • f - f - f 4 — 1 - -fW4+ - j - . 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J - i ? * 1 .0 r- " i-P ri- -K -H - M ii h li l — ^ - 1 j K f - f - t h THrb ex X r-H -f'f-H H -- xp t i j i i i t ; + H + i • i~ 1 i : i ! . . T - i T T T f r r r r T f f f 'tr|t- H - i i - • H - t - f t l - f i T hhh- h- h- h- C - p t - p H - ' i l ' hiti: mi d±i±B±Et 4 4 - f 4 - « - f + 4 - l T t t r xitp ■ f i - i H - K H - h H f i + l J 4 4 4 - 1 - fQ ■m 5 3 C f l [ O C | 1 *s“ sr t 3 C O C D C O 1 1 II 1 1 1 1 IIII Jill 1 1 J I BBB m 8 ' « l I •Trri : -M -| • - - f r T • • ■ ■ ■ H - r i - - - H < i - 1 < ...i • • • • - { - ■ • • • * ....... B ' - . . . . . . - . . - - f . 4 - r - r * • • i t x t c n r t ' P 1 t r a i T ; - ; ; : £ C 3 s l : ‘ l i j ; : i l. ’ r i . i L i i . . * ; x i t b t i n r p r r : C O ’ . T ,. r j,.,. rT --. ~ t\ - * | r • ■ f • - BKtlfe!' 0 — 1 - t - r - C | ...4-4-; -f-j-i-t- -pPX L I ro Vn f . _ - _ C - xrrB^xn. --J- ----------- - + H .i. T t f t i 'j\ 1 j » n Ili E!n: 1 • - t - r r r i t I - t1]H' . j j.j.4. r •f S - 4 - 4- IiC-T "r-H-r TT-fT r 1 r 1 i l i r i i a 0 o •J .L|.4 - - ■ rfl-h Lwi O Tftr i " 110 standpoint of availability of labor, market for products, \ and supply of venture capital. Since our Garment Industry is situated in an atmosphere of marked population growth, it is natural to expect this Industry to reap the harvest / of such expansion. The table on page 111 demonstrates the notable growth pattern of the Los Angeles area relative to the rest of the country. The points illustrated are as follows: 1. The successive periods of growth by decades for the Los Angeles Metropolitan area are markedly larger than the United States as a whole. 2. Roughly the growth of the United States for the period from 1 9 1 0 to 19^0 was one-sixth of that experi enced by the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. 3. Whereas the United States 1950 population figure is 1.6 times the size of the 1910 figure, the 1950 population figure of Metropolitan Los Angeles is 8.1 times this area's population figure for 1 9 1 0. Air shipment of garment products as a prospect. Tbe~ prospect of volume shipment by air of Los Angeles Garment Manufacturer's products to customers all over the United States is a quite favorable one. There are several advantages attached to the use of this type of transportation Ill TABLE VIII GROWTH OF POPULATION PATTERN FOR THE UNITED STATES AND THE LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN AREA, 1910 TO 1950 Years U.S. pop. Per cent change of U.S. pop. over prev. decade## L.A. Met. pop. \ Per cent change of L.A. pop. over previous decade### 1910 91.972,266 21 538,567 184 1920 106,500,000 16 997,830 85 1930 1 2 3,1 0 0 ,0 0 0 16 2,237,166 1124 1940 132,000,000 7 2,916,403 30 1950 150,697,361 14 4,339,225 48 |1950 figures expressed U.S.-1.6 as times larger than 1910 figure L.A.-8.1 ♦Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. ♦♦Percentages for U.S. rounded. ♦♦♦Percentages for L.A. rounded. 112 for the distribution of the Los Angeles garment product. Initially, there is a significant transportation time saving factor. There is additional saving from the stand point of reduced inventory carrying period. 'Further probably the most important advantage to Los Angeles producers is that manufacturers have a better safeguard / against the dangers of overnight style change under this system of distribution; and the invasion of cheap substi tutes which sometimes get into competitive shops almost as quickly as the original models. This air shipment prospect for Los Angeles Garment Manufacturers is not too remote, but in fact to some small degree a reality. At least one store is sold on air ship ment of fashion merchandise. Boston's very prominent store, William Filine and Sons, at present features California Fashion products received daily by air express. Large volume air shipment of garment products has been tried* in Chicago, and as of the present with not too much success. This city experienced trouble with the cartage to the air carrier phase of the operation. Motor trucks employed to cart merchandise to the air carriers have been hampered by congested, and consequently costly traffic conditions. In the light of the above experience, Los Angeles 113 Producers can well take cognizance of the system employed in New York, the same of which has met with no little success. The United States Packing and Shipping Company, a New York enterprise, in 19^8 inaugurated the system there of making consolidated air freight shipments for the gar ment producers of the area. The air freight terminal operated by the United States Packing Company is located on the edge of the sprawling, crowded garment district. Packages are received here from garment makers, pooled into one shipment under one bill of lading, and then for warded to the airport, where actual air shipment takes place. In order to whip the problem of contending with garment district traffic congestion, garment producers are required to deliver their products for shipment to the air freight terminal. Generally for this purpose the garment producers use their own hand trucks, consequently relieving the shipping agency of this otherwise costly operation. The air freight agency makes a profit on the haul from the terminal to the airport, receiving the difference between the trucker's bulk rate and the package rate paid by the client. The air freight terminal has nothing to do with the actual air freight charges. The air line 114 bills the client directly. The shipping client, however, makes a saving here. He gets the benefit of bulk rates on the consolidated air shipment. Intensive propagation of the Pacific market as a prospect. As a post war policy of this country, it is imperative that we instigate the "commercial emancipation" of the Pacific area countries. This emancipation natural ly involves expansive trade volume between this country and others bordering the great Pacific Ocean. There are a billion prospective customers in the Pacific area who are in need of the varied product of our country. Included in this product, of course, is the very basic one of the apparel manufacturers. Since the Los Angeles Garment In dustry is very strategically located in relation to the greater Pacific market, it behooves our Los Angeles pro ducers of garments to lead the way in this intensified program of trade with the Pacific area countries. It can be said with validity that the Los Angeles garment manufacturers have not been completely unaware of the potentialities of the Pacific market. For example, the Hawaiian market has been fairly well cultivated. It was in the latter 1920's or early 1930's when California sportswear especially suitable for wear in the Islands was introduced. In a few short years Los Angeles made 115 apparel was sold by all shops and stores in the Islands. Los Angeles producers, Cole of California (Catalina Pro ducts), and Zukin have established plants in this country. In the light of the over-all potentiality of the Pacific market, it can be safely stated that it is at present grossly uncultivated. The encouraging attitude of government as a favorable Influence on the prospects of the Los Angeles Garment In dustry. The California Reconstruction and Reemployment Commission, recognizing the vital position of the Apparel Manufacturing Industry in the state's economy, has exerted every effort to strengthen the Industry's position and assure its sound post war development. Indication of the importance attached to the Industry is the fact that the Apparel Industry Committee was the first project committee established by the Commission. The State Legislature shared the interest of the Commission and industrial leaders in a strong Apparel In dustry capable of substantial expansion following the war. An expression of this concern is illustrated by Assembly Resolution No. 84, prepared by Assemblymen Maloney and Lyon, and introduced as well as adopted on June 13, 1944. It is as follows: Relative to encouraging garment manufacturing 116 establishments to come to California Whereas the State of California must look for ward to the question of employment and the estab lishment of industry prior to the termination of the war so that we may be prepared to meet all industrial problems that may arise; and Whereas with the large Influx of people to California since the beginning of the war, there is a tremendous buying power not only among Cali fornia’s increased population, but also a tremend ous potential market in the Orient and the Pacific area for the purchase of material manufactured and sold by the Garment Industry; and Whereas, There is now an encouraging outlook for the establishment of large manufacturing plants on the Pacific Coast; now therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of Calif ornia, That the Assembly hereby requests the State Reconstruction and Reemployment Commission, to the best of its ability, to compile from whatever sources that may be available any and all informa tion possible that would in any way encourage the bringing of this important branch of industry to California; . . . .3 A supporting Cotton Textile Industry in the Los Angeles area as a prospect. In the absence of a taag'or Cotton Textile Industry on the West Coast, Los Angeles garment makers are oblj^ed to seek cotton materials prin cipally in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states. Recently the Southwest has become a growing source also. In other words, our manufacturers have to seek their cotton textile 3 Apparel Manufacturing in California (Sacramento: State Reconstruction and Reemployment Commission, 19^5)> p. 82. 117 raw materials generally some 2.,500 miles from the Los Angeles manufacturing area. A source of raw materials quite remote from the point of manufacture naturally en tails a freight cost disadvantage. For example# Los Angeles Garment Manufacturers have to pay freight charges of one cent to two cents per yard on cottons# one to five cents per yard on rayon textiles, and eight to ten cents per yard on woolens.2 * The development of a significant Cotton Textile Industry in the Los Angeles area with its resulting advant ages to our Garment Industry is a prospect not extremely remote. Since a ready market for the sale of textile raw materials exists in the Los Angeles area, and Los Angeles in general has numerous favorable conditions for the estab lishment of a major Cotton Textile Industry, little reason exists for such an establishment not to take place in the near future. Let us now consider some of the advantages Los Angeles has to offer prospective Cotton Textile Manufactur ers. Initially, California has a bountiful cotton crop at * * Charles Goodman# op. cit., p. 34. 118 the disposal of prospective cotton textile producers. As of the year 19^7 California produced some 760,000 bales of five hundred pound gross, having farm value of $118, 560,000. This level of production placed California fifth in the nation, only being surpassed by the States of Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama.5 California not only has cotton in quantity, but also cotton of quality. Our product is free from the boll weevil and other cotton pests. We can grow all varieties of American cotton suitable for fine or coarse goods. The cotton growers of the area also have a very advantageous growing season, the longest in the United States; cotton often being picked a week before planting, and some being grown on a perennial basis without re planting. Irrigation makes it possible to give the right amount of water to the crop at the correct time without dependence upon occasional rainfall with its attendant danger of stains and mildew. California's ideal humidity conditions do not permit our crop to absorb very much moisture; and there exist definite advantages to ^ Statistical Abstract (Washington, D. C.: Depart ment of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 19^8), p. 1 8 9* 119 fabricators in the use of "dry cotton." Our cotton growers have probably the-greatest advan tage over growers in other areas in their protection against the invasion of boll weevil and other cotton pests. Protection comes in the form of natural physical barriers, and the very strict quarantine maintained by federal and state authorities. Growers have been known to lose as much as 50 per cent of their normal crop due to droughts, floods, torna does, and the boll weevil. Our growers are practically immune from these highly destructive elements. Operating costs are a major problem in textile production. Failure in other areas to attain real success can be strongly attributed to heavy fuel costs for heating and processing, necessity in general for maintenance of individual power plants, and investment amortization costs due to prohibitive building outlays. A mill in the Los Angeles area could depend upon a constant rate of fuel cost accompanied by 100 per cent * service without individual auxiliary steam plant, and without the uncertain influence of varying coal prices and shortages (as in the East, for example). Service in the Los Angeles area is well supported by steam stand-by plants and extensive interconnection. 120 Southern California has abundant resources of fuel oil and natural gas* both of which are more efficient, cheaper, and much more easily handled than coal. Both the East and the South, present leading textile producing areas of the nation, depend strongly upon coal as a source of fuel--coal with its attendant disadvantages of less boiler efficiency, and varying cost. The development of the large oil fields in Southern California has been accompanied by the installation of an intricate pipe line system, so the prospective industrial users of fuel.oil, or natural gas are assured of a fully adequate source of supply. At present, all of the oil fields of Los Angeles and Orange Counties are intimately connected by pipe lines with all towns of any size. The entire area from Santa Monica to Redlands, and from San Fernando south to the ocean as far as Newport, is covered with a network of high pressure natural gas transmission lines. Quite recently, the bountiful supply of the Texas * oil fields was tapped to augment the already adequate sup ply of this fuel, Since Los Angeles is the center of oil production in this general area, industrial plants here are assured of the very lowest rates on fuel oil and natural gas. 121 Los Angeles has a transport position that is definitely conducive to the successful operation of a Textile Industry here. This city is the terminus of four railroads. Three of these are transcontinental ^ systems, namely the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific. The fourth line is the Pacific Electric, a Class A railroad in itself, though only interurban. Los Angeles has extensive railroad car storage facilities, possessing the largest yard limits of any Western City. The railroads have numerous direct and interchangeable dock, warehouse, and track connections throughout Southern California. There are numerous ship- side connections for loading, and free switching service to the entire industrial area. In addition to being an important railroad terminus, Los Angeles is also the terminus for several fast freight truck lines. These lines radiate to all parts of the Coast and the Southwest, and are outstanding for their cheap and uniform rates and good service. The Los Angeles Harbor offers another transporta- tional attraction to prospective textile manufacturers. The municipal wharves and warehouse facilities of the Los Angeles Harbor are among the finest in the United States. 122 The Harbor has a highly favorable position geographically. It is the first port of call for Westbound intercoastal steamers; the last stopping place of Eastbound ships, and is from two to ten days closer to the East Coast than are the other large Pacific ports. The Pacific Coast, of which Southern California and Los Angeles are an Integral part, is the logical point of concentration for the commodities from the lands bordering the Pacific Ocean. These lands have an enormous production of raw materials used in manufacture. It is estimated that approximately two-thirds of the world's population lives In countries bordering the Pacific, and these people produce nearly two-thirds of the world's manufacturing raw materials. It so happens that textile raw materials such as cotton, wool, silk, jute, sisal, and hemp figure prominently in their output. BIBLIO G RA P HY BIBLIOGRAPHY A. BOOKS Braun, Kurt, Union-Management Cooperation. Washington, D. C.: The Brookings Institute, 1947- 255 pp. Coons, Arthur G., An Economic and Industrial Survey of the Los Angeles and San Diego Areas. Sacramento: State Planning Board, 1941. 230 pp. Crawford, M. D. C.» The Ways of Fashion. New York: Fair child Publishing Company, 19'48. 3^8 pp. Dooley, William H., Economics of Clothing and Textiles. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1934. 693 PP* Drake, Leonard A., Trends in the New York Clothing Indus try. New York: Institute of Public Administration, 19^2 . l8l pp. Greenberg, David B., A Small Store and Independence. New York: Greenberg Publishing Company,"' 19^5 • 243 pp. Hardy, Jack, The Clothing Workers. New York: Internation- / al Publishers, 1935* 256 pp." Levine, Louis, The Women Garment Workers♦ New York:• Huebsch Inc., 1924. 511 pp. Seidman, Joel, The Needle Trades. New York: Rinehart and Company, 1942." 356 pp. Zaretz, Charles, The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of Ameri ca. New York: Ancon Publishing Company, 1934. "286 pp. B . PERIODICAL ARTICLES "Los Angeles' Little Cutters," Fortune Magazine, 31:134-39* May, 1945. 125 Porter# Amy# "Sun-Suit Strip,1 1 Colliers Magazine, 119:66, 73-4, January 18, 1947. Taylor, Frank J., ’ ’ They Start the Fads,” The Saturday Evening Post, 219:30, 48-52, November 9, 1946. C. PUBLICATIONS Apparel Manufacturing in California. Sacramento: State Reconstruction and Reemployment Commission, 1945- 65 PP- Dynamic L. A. County, A Local Market of _4 Million People. Los Angeles: ChamFer of Commerce, 193FI 50"~pp. GLOSSARY OF JOBS Tlcketer♦ The Ticketer is one who identifies garment parts and cut-out pieces for other workers by appropriately marking and attaching tickets to the cloth parts. Sewing Machine Operator (Line System). Operates a standard industrial sewing machine to perform a single function, such as hemming, binding, or joining garment parts or sections. Sewing Machine Operator (Section System). Operates a standard industrial sewing machine to perform the stitching involved in making complete parts of garments, in joining various garment sections together, or in attaching previously completed garment parts to partial ly completed garments. Sewing Machine Operator (Single-Hand System). Performs all standard sewing machine operations, including hemming, binding, and seaming, involved in the manu facture of a complete garment, such as a coat, dress, skirt, slip, or pair of pants; this being done after receiving only brief directions. All-around Sewing Machine Operator. Performs any sewing operation on any standard or special machine in a * This glossary covers jobs that are not hardly obvious as to their nature. It does not pretent to cover all of the jobs mentioned in the Labor chapter of this -study.----------------■ — —-----------—— ————---------- ------— — — University of Southern California Library 128 given establishment* to substitute for absent workers* to assist line or section system operators who may be temporarily behind in production* or teach new workers the duties involved in the production of a garment under the system in force. Busheler. Repairs and alters shape of men's and women's garments that have been rejected as defective* per forming all cutting of stitches* trimming of parts, rearrangement of padding* and hand or machine sewing that may be required. Tailor (Shop). Performs specialized hand-sewing or machine sewing tasks* which require tailoring skill in the manufacture of read-to-wear clothing. The specific duties of the job vary considerably among individual plants* according to the size of the shop and the production system in force. Draper. One who drapes sections of dresses on forms to ascertain how parts should be joined, and pins sec tions together for guidance of operators.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract It was the purpose of this study to examine the Garment Industry in the Southern California area in a manner to demonstrate its prodigious development over the relatively short span of years it has been operating. Its developmental pattern reflects the over-all progress of industry in our area.

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Lassiter, Edward B. (author)

Core Title An analysis of garment manufacturing in the Los Angeles area

School School of Commerce

Degree Master of Business Administration

Degree Program Business Administration

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag air shipment,business administration, general,competition,cotton textile industry,decentralization,employment levels,fashion market,funding,garment fabrication,industry growth,local distribution,location,Management,Market,OAI-PMH Harvest,textile technology,Trade associations,unions,working conditions

Place Name California (states), economic regions: Los Angeles (geographic subject), USA (countries)

Format vii, 128 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm. (aacr2)

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Wait, William B. (committee chair), Craig, Robert F. (committee member), Libby, Phillip A. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m2

Unique identifier UC11263958

Identifier EP43365.pdf (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c20-128863 (legacy record id),usctheses-m2 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP43365.pdf

Dmrecord 128863

Document Type Thesis

Format vii, 128 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm. (aacr2)

Rights Lassiter, Edward B.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA