Made in L.A.

www.pbs.org/pov

Discussion Guide

Made in L.A.

A film by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar

P.O.V.

Season

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Letter from the Filmmaker

Season

ew York, June 2007

Dear Colleague,

Like many recent immigrants, I came to

this country from my native Spain thinking

I’d just be here “for a while.” Like most

immigrants, I ended up staying.

My personal story would not have had

anything to do with Made in L.A. if it wasn’t

for the fact that in the five years the film

took to complete, it slowly, unexpectedly,

became an intimate portrait of an all-

American experience: the struggle of

recent immigrants to get a foothold, to

learn their rights and to assert their voice

in our society.

The project started with a quite different

goal: One day I read a newspaper story

about sweatshops in Los Angeles. It talked

about the deplorable conditions faced by

immigrants working in some downtown

garment factories: long hours, sub-minimum-wage pay (or no pay), unsafe or unsanitary conditions, rats, roaches ... I simply

couldn’t understand how this was possible. I was appalled. I had already made a short documentary, and so I set out to make a little

film that would expose these issues and that would take about five months to complete. Or so I thought.

I approached Los Angeles’s Garment Worker Center, then newly opened, and started spending time there, sometimes filming, often

just talking with workers. They were about to launch a campaign against a clothing retailer: a boycott and a lawsuit that would

attempt to hold a retailer — Forever 21, which sells trendy clothes at cheap prices — accountable for the conditions where their

clothes are made. The energy of those early days was electrifying and I filmed everything that I could. As I started to get to know

the workers, I was struck by their need to tell their personal stories. Stories of why they came to this country, of why they were doing

garment work, of their hopes and fears for their children. They seemed surprised that I wanted to listen.

A very raw and rare intimacy came out in these moments and is captured in my early footage. Speaking in Spanish, my native

language, being a woman and working almost completely alone gradually inspired trust and allowed me to enter their lives. In order

to portray this, I shot the film in an unobtrusive, intimate verité style. I also desired to capture the lyrical beauty and the details of

this colorful, diverse Los Angeles that few outsiders experience.

The five months that I had planned to devote to the project passed quickly and yet I felt that I might only be at the beginning. As the

film began to grow, I sought out collaborators and met my producing partner, Robert Bahar. Through our invaluable collaboration,

we began to reshape the film from a little documentary on sweatshops to a feature story focusing on the lives of three of the amazing

Producers Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar.

Photo Felicity Murphy

omen I encountered at the center: María Pineda, Maura Colorado and Guadalupe “Lupe” Hernandez. I filmed them at home, at the

noisy protests with their children, at meetings at the Garment Worker Center — virtually everywhere they’d allow me to follow them.

I was so dedicated that Lupe used to tease me: “Little camera, one day you’ll leave me alone!”

Early in the filming, the Garment Worker Center launched a national tour to draw attention to their boycott campaign and lawsuit.

I followed Lupe to New York, the first time either of us had experienced the Big Apple. While there, Lupe visited the Lower East Side

Tenement Museum and the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration. Those two visits are captured in the film and were deeply moving

for both of us. Lupe saw pictures of the immigrants who came to New York in the early 20th century. She saw how they lived, how

hard they worked and how they struggled to assert their rights. “It’s just like today!” was her gut reaction. That moment was an

epiphany. She and I suddenly understood that the experience of Latino immigrants today resembles, in so many ways, the

experiences of generations of immigrants who have come before them, from so many other places, in other times and through other

ports of entry. The same struggle, the same hopes and dreams for a better life, for themselves and their children.

If Made in L.A. were to accomplish anything, I would hope that it would provide a deeply human window into this oft-repeated

immigrant struggle. Wouldn’t you leave your children, no matter the danger, no matter the pain, in order to send back enough

money to feed them, hoping to give them a better life? Wouldn’t you work day and night, no matter the physical and emotional drain,

if you had four children to raise and you had no other options? And wouldn’t you overcome your fears and stand up one day to

demand your rights in the workplace if you were constantly humiliated, underpaid, even spat at? What would you do — or not do —

in order to survive?

But what Robert and I did not anticipate is that their boycott campaign and lawsuit would take three long years and the story would

take another turn. Struggles cause people to change, and as the campaign dragged on, we were amazed to observe each woman’s

growing sense of self-confidence and self-worth, their agency and empowerment. It then became clear to us that this was the real

story and that their struggle against Forever 21 mattered not just for its own sake, but because it served as a catalyst for each of

their individual stories. The story of María taking control and deciding to leave her husband. The story of Maura learning to cope

with her fears and struggling to reunite with her children. The story of Lupe, who grew up feeling ugly and insignificant, becoming

an organizer and one day reflecting on her path from atop Victoria’s Peak overlooking Hong Kong. Made in L.A. is a story about the

decision to stand up, to say, “I exist. And I have rights.”

I am humbled and honored to have been allowed to capture this on film. Like María, Maura and Lupe, at the end of a long journey,

we all got something that we had never expected.

Almudena Carracedo

Director/Producer/Cinematographer, Made in L.A.

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Letter from the Filmmaker

Season

5 Introduction

6 Background Information

6 The Lawsuit Against Forever 21

7 Immigrant Labor in the United States

8 The U.S. Garment Industry

10 Worker Centers

11 Selected People Featured in

Made in L.A.

12 General Discussion Questions

13 Discussion Prompts

16 Taking Action

17 Resources

22 How to Buy the Film

Writer

Faith Rogow, PhD

Insighters Educational Consulting

Research Editor

Kris Wilton

Guide Producers, P.O.V.

Eliza Licht

Director, Community Engagement and Education, P.O.V.

Jessica Lee

Outreach and Development Coordinator, P.O.V.

Irene Villaseñor

Youth Views Manager, P.O.V.

Design: Rafael Jiménez

Copy Editor: Joan D. Saunders

Thanks to those who reviewed this guide:

Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar,

Producers, Made in L.A.

Shaady Salehi,

Program Manager, Active Voice

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Table of Contents

Season

Credits, Acknowledgements

Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the

power of unity and the courage it takes to find your

voice. Made in L.A., a feature-length documentary

(

70 minutes), follows the remarkable journey of

three Latina immigrants working in L.A.'s

garment factories and their struggle for self-

empowerment as they wage a three-year battle to

bring a major clothing retailer to the negotiating

table.

This intimate film offers a rare and poignant

glimpse into this “other” California, where

immigrants in many industries toil long hours for

sub-minimum wages, fighting for an opportunity

in a new country. As an engagement tool, it offers

viewers a powerful springboard for dialogue about

the challenges facing low-wage immigrant

workers, the great hardships and benefits of

organizing, the impact of individual consumer

purchasing choices, and the complex effects of

public policy related to immigration and labor.

Garment worker Maria at a sewing machine.

Photo Almudena Carracedo

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Introduction

Season

The Lawsuit Against Forever 21

On December 14, 2004, 33 garment workers won a settlement

against the clothing retailer Forever 21. The workers, who had

abored in 21 different Los Angeles factories between the years

of 1998 and 2004, had claimed that they were mistreated by

their employers, all subcontractors of the retail chain. They

reported working nine to 13 hours a day, more than five days a

week, four to seven hours on Saturdays and sometimes on

Sundays, and they said that they were often denied meal and

rest breaks and sometimes were not paid for their work. They

alleged deplorable and illegal working conditions, including

poorly lit, poorly ventilated facilities filled with dust and infested

with rats and cockroaches.

The workers, represented by the Asian Pacific American Legal

Center, an L.A.-based nonprofit civil rights organization, also

led a three-year national boycott against the chain, organized by

L.A.’s Garment Worker Center and Sweatshop Watch. Their

intention was to establish the legal precedent that retailers can

be held jointly responsible for labor violations in the factories

where their clothes are made.

The settlement followed a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

decision overturning a lower court’s ruling that the 19 original

garment workers on the suit could not state valid legal claims

against a clothing retailer for sweatshop abuses. The terms of

the settlement were never disclosed, but the workers agreed to

drop their case and end the boycott of Forever 21, and the

retailer pledged to work for fair labor conditions in its factories.

The chain, founded by L.A.-based Korean immigrants Don and

Jin Sook Chang in the mid-1980s, sells inexpensive, fashionable

clothing for men, women and children, much of it reproductions

of other designers’ work. The company now has some 400

stores nationwide, and retail analysts estimate that annual

sales have skyrocketed from about $640 million in 2005 to more

than $1 billion today.

Sources

Garment Worker Center, www.garmentworkercenter.org;

Ruth La Ferla, “Faster Fashion, Cheaper Chic,” New York Times (10 May 2007).

Garment workers unveil a billboard against retailer Forever 21.

Photo Lin-Shao Chin

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Background Information

Season

Immigrant Labor in the United States

Starting in the 17th century, large numbers of immigrants from

Ireland, Italy, Germany, Eastern Europe and Asia have been

eaving their homelands in response to political corruption and

religious persecution coupled with the hope of economic

prosperity in the United States. The expansion of the American

economy created heavy demands for labor, which were met by

the new influx of immigrants.

Originally, granting citizenship to immigrants was a state

decision. In 1790, Congress passed a national naturalization act

that granted citizenship to foreigners based on two criteria: that

they had resided in the United States for at least two years and

that they were of “good character.” In 1798, immigration laws

became more complex — Congress passed the Alien and

Sedition Acts, which required a 14-year residency for

citizenship. This was eventually repealed, but other

exclusionary acts were passed in the second half of the 19th

century that limited the number of immigrants able to enter the

United States. In 1965, immigration quotas gave preference to

immigrants with specific skills or who already had family in the

United States.

Immigrant labor demands continue to exist today as American

owners and managers of factories, restaurants, hotels,

construction sites, hospitals, orchards and innumerable other

places of employment express the need for access to

immigrant workers. Although economic opportunities do exist

for them, foreign-born workers are more likely to toil in high-

risk occupations and to work in the unregulated “informal”

economy. They often fear reporting workplace injuries; many

are not aware of their legal rights to safety and health on the job

and to workers’ compensation if they are injured. Oftentimes

immigrant workers are paid less than native-born residents

and are exposed to more environmental and occupational risks.

Sources:

http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/laborday/upload/immigrant_risk.pdf;

http://library.advanced.org/20619/German.html;

http://library.advanced.org/20619/Irish.html;

http://library.advanced.org/20619/Japanese.html;

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/cubhtml/theme1.html;

William E. White, “Yearning to breathe free …,”

Newsweek Education Program (June 2006).

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Background Information

Season

Organizer Joann Lo announcing lawsuit and boycott

against Forever 21.

Photo Kimi Lee

The U.S. Garment Industry

Historically, work in the U.S. garment industry has been

performed by poor, unskilled, mostly female immigrants.

Because opportunities are few for such workers, many of whom

speak no English or lack legal documentation, they are

vulnerable to abuse, including poor working conditions, long

hours and extremely low wages.

In the early 19th century, the garment industry workforce was

predominantly seamstresses who worked at home for scant

wages, some laboring 16 hours a day. By the late 1800s and into

the early 1900s, the industry was dominated by Eastern

European immigrants who produced garments in tenement

apartments converted into small shops; competition kept

wages down and the workload high.

Substandard working conditions common in the industry were

widely exposed in 1911, when a New York City sweatshop, the

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, burned, killing 146 of 500 workers,

mostly young immigrant women. Some jumped to their deaths

while others were trapped by locked doors and a fire escape

that led nowhere. The government responded with some

protective regulations, but there has always been an

underground network of employers who ignore the regulations.

Deplorable working conditions in the garment industry again

came to light in 1995, when police uncovered a clandestine

garment factory in a seven-apartment compound in El Monte,

California, freeing 72 undocumented Thai immigrants who had

been forced to sew in virtual captivity. The incident captured the

attention of the media and the Clinton administration, leading to

new investigations and to increased public awareness of

sweatshop labor. This case gave birth to an assembly bill in

Sewing Machine in Shadows.

Photo Almudena Carracedo

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Background Information

Season

alifornia: AB 633, which holds manufacturers jointly

responsible for the conditions in the factories where their

clothes are made. The bill did not extend joint responsibility to

retailers.

Many textile factory jobs have moved overseas, largely as a

result of the implementation of the North American Free Trade

Agreement in 1994 and the lifting of international trade quotas

by the World Trade Organization in 2005. Both moves lifted

import restrictions, making it easier for U.S. companies to

move operations to low-wage countries such as China and India

and bypass stricter labor laws at home. Nonetheless, some

manufacturing remains in the United States, in part due to the

rapid fashion cycles and quick turn-around requirements of

young women’s fashion.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2006 the “cut and

sew apparel” industry employed 329,000 workers. Of these, 66

percent were women, 6.8 percent were black, 16.4 percent were

Asian, and 42.6 percent were Hispanic or Latino. These jobs

made up about 0.02 percent of total U.S. jobs and 0.22 percent

of manufacturing jobs. Average weekly earnings for apparel

production workers were $351 in 2004, far lower than the overall

average in manufacturing of $659 per week.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that changing trade

regulations combined with consumer demand for low-cost

apparel (much of which is produced in foreign sweatshops) will

lead to a 46 percent decline in overall garment industry

employment between now and 2014, despite a projected 14

percent increase in employment in the United States.

Recently, legislation was introduced that would both improve

working conditions in the United States and reduce sweatshop

labor here and abroad. The Protecting America’s Workers Act,

originally introduced in April 2007, would strengthen the

existing Occupational Safety and Health Act to ensure safe

working conditions, widen the range of workers covered and

protect whistleblowers.

The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act,

reintroduced in both the Senate and the House earlier this year

after being initially introduced in 2006, would prohibit the

import, export and sale in the United States of sweatshop

oods. In the past several years, some 175 U.S. states, cities,

counties, dioceses, schools and school districts have adopted

“sweatfree” procurement policies, many as a result of

campaigns organized under the umbrella of the nonprofit group

SweatFree Communities. This new act would make such

standards federal law.

Sources:

he Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2001–05);

“

House Democrats Introduce Legislation to Boost Workplace Safety Protecting

merica’s Workers Act Aims to Curb Worker Injuries and Deaths” (April 26,

007), www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/edlabor_dem/rel042607.html;

“

The Hustler,” The Economist (4 January 2007); Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006

urrent Population Survey, www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs015.htm.

Peter Liebhold and Harry Rubenstein, Between a Rock and Hard Place: A History

of American Sweatshops, 1820–Present (1998);

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/145;

Morning Edition: “American Apparel, an Immigrant Success Story” (April 28,

2006), www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5368068;

The National Labor Committee, www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=120;

http://www.nelp.org/docUploads/quan.pdf;

www.sweatfree.org.

Sweatshop Watch, www.sweatshopwatch.org.

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Background Information

Season

Worker Centers

Worker centers are unique community-based mediating

institutions that advocate for the worker rights of low-wage

immigrants and other people of color and provide these

workers with a range of opportunities for individual and

collective empowerment. Difficult to categorize, worker centers

have some features that are suggestive of earlier U.S. civic

institutions, including settlement houses, fraternal organi-

zations, local civil rights organizations and unions. Some are

based in one specific industry while others are not industry-

based.

The centers are central components of the immigrant

community infrastructure and are playing a singular role in

helping immigrants navigate the worlds of work and civil

society in the United States. All over the country, worker

centers are helping low-wage workers recover lost wages and

take action to improve their lives.

Source:

Janice Fine, “Worker Centers: Organizing Communities at the Edge of a Dream,”

Neighborhood Funders Group (April 2005).

Garment Worker Center.

Photo courtesy of

“Made in L.A.”

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Background Information

Season

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Background Information

Season

Guadalupe, “Lupe”, garment worker –

Lupe left Mexico City at the age of 17 to

join her sister in Los Angeles, where she

quickly adapted to life working in garment

factories. At the Garment Worker Center,

Lupe’s strength and natural leadership

qualities are soon recognized, but she is

faced with a great challenge she wasn’t

expecting: to transform her pain and

anger into constructive thought and

action. Eventually, she is hired as an

organizer by the center.

María, garment worker – María first

came to Los Angeles to join her husband,

seeking opportunities in a new country.

Instead, she found herself stuck in an

abusive relationship and in an abusive

sweatshop job. She is determined to

provide a better life for her children and

goes to the Garment Worker Center for

support and encouragement.

Maura, garment worker – When she was

22, Maura left her three young children in

El Salvador and came to the United

States, alone, to work to support them.

Little did she know that, due to her

undocumented status, it would be 18

years before she would see them again.

Once in Los Angeles, she found work in

the garment industry, but was fired from

her job after complaining about conditions

in the factory.

Joann, former lead organizer, Garment

Worker Center, current co-director of

ENLACE – ENLACE is a strategic alliance

of low-wage worker centers, unions and

organizing groups in the United States

and Mexico.

Kimi, director, Garment Worker Center –

Kimi previously worked as the field

director for the American Civil Liberties

Union of Southern California.

Julie, workers’ attorney, litigation

director at the Asian Pacific American

Legal Center of Southern California –

Julie gained national prominence for her

1995 representation of Thai and Latina

garment workers who labored in slave

conditions in El Monte, California.

Selected People Featured in Mad e in L.A.

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

General Discussion Questions

Season

You may want to give people a few quiet moments

immediately after viewing the film to reflect on what

they have seen. If the mood seems tense, before

opening the discussion you may want to pose a

general question and give people some time to

themselves to jot down or think about their answers.

Unless you think participants are so uncomfortable

that they need a break before they can engage in a

discussion, discourage people from leaving the room

between the film and the discussion. This way you

won’t lose the feeling of the film as you begin your

dialogue. You can offer a break later, at an

appropriate moment during the discussion.

One way to get a discussion going is to pose a general

question, such as:

• If you could ask anyone in the film a single

question, who would you ask and what would you

ask?

• Did anything in this film surprise you? If so,

what? Why was it surprising?

• What insights or inspiration did you gain from

this film? What did you learn about the film’s

subjects and/or about yourself?

• Describe a moment in the film that you found to

be moving or particularly memorable. What was

it about that moment that impressed you?

Los Angeles fashion district.

Photo courtesy of “Made in L.A.”

Labor and Workplace Issues

• At the beginning of the film, María says, “We had no other

option but to fight.” Now that you have seen the full story, why

was “fighting” María’s only option (or why did she think it was

her only option)? What could be done to provide workers like

María with other options to address workplace complaints and

work-related injustices?

• Lupe says, “Most immigrants come to this country

thinking there are lots of jobs. Well, there are many jobs, but

they’re jobs of exploitation.” Why are most of the jobs available

to people like Lupe “jobs of exploitation”? How does lack of

documentation make workers even more vulnerable to

exploitation? What could be done to prevent employers from

exploiting undocumented workers? Besides the workers

themselves, who would benefit from protecting the rights of

these workers?

• Garment Worker Center organizer Joann describes a

cycle in which “workers are being paid less because retailers

are paying less to manufacturers, who then have less money to

pay contractors, and on down the line.” Who benefits most from

this cycle? Who is harmed by it? Where do consumers fit in?

Who is responsible for breaking the cycle? What specifically

should they do?

• The workers are seeking to hold Forever 21 responsible for

what their subcontractors do. In your view, is Forever 21

responsible? What are the pros and cons of holding a company

responsible for what subcontractors do?

• At the end of the film, Lupe travels to Hong Kong to join

workers from other parts of the world who are also fighting for

better working conditions. In what ways is the issue of working

conditions and immigrant workers a local issue? A national

issue? An international issue?

Workers in a garment factory.

Photo courtesy of “Made in L.A.”

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Discussion Prompts

Season

Resistance / Protest / Organizing

• What did you learn from the film about the difficulties

and rewards of sustaining a protest? What tactics were used to

iscourage or derail the protestors? How can organizers and

workers effectively respond to such tactics?

• Lupe says that “when people organize, they stop being

victims” and that participating in the protests makes her feel

“for the first time, you’re important.” How can protesting make

someone feel important even when the protestors may not be

achieving their immediate goals? How does organizing help

people “stop being victims” even when that very organizing can

bring about risks (reprisals, being fired and so on)?

• How often and where do you see (or hear or read) about

worker struggles like those shown in the film? How often are

worker perspectives included in news reports? On a scale of 1

to 10, rate the quality of coverage of worker issues in the news

media on which you typically rely. What might you do to help

improve news coverage?

• A worker at a Garment Worker Center meeting resists

pressure that he take responsibility for using the megaphone

at the next protest, saying, “Each of us has our own type of

leadership that we like the most.” What different kinds of

leadership do you see modeled in the film? Do you agree with

Lupe that everyone should use the megaphone? What kinds of

leadership roles would you feel most comfortable taking?

• What was it like for you to witness María’s discomfort

speaking in a college classroom? Have you had a similar

experience? What did you learn about organizing and/or

activism from that scene?

• Explain the “power pyramid” that Lupe uses to describe

the power of workers uniting. What do you think of the analysis?

• Lupe says, “The more I learn things, the lonelier I feel.

Ignorance in some ways protects you ….” What do you think she

means? How would you define ignorance? How might

ignorance protect a worker in her position? How might

ignorance hurt her?

• Several of the women in the film indicate some reluctance

to participate in protests. For example, Maura says, “We were

scared, but we couldn’t let fear paralyze us.” How did the

women overcome their fears and concerns? What were the

sources of their strength? What are some issues in your

community that you feel need community support? How would

you go about nurturing support for these issues?

Garment workers Lupe, Maria and Maura in downtown Los Angeles.

Photo Felicity Murphy

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Discussion Prompts

Season

Immigration

• María says, “I thought it would be different here … to

study, to have a career … to be happy. I was full of dreams.” How

do you think María’s dreams are different from and similar to

those of immigrants from generations past? What reasons did

the workers in the film give for coming to the United States?

• We see Lupe at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum

and at Ellis Island recognizing links to turn-of-the-century

Jewish women garment workers. Describe those links. What

has changed? What has stayed the same?

• The film highlights historical patterns with some

immigrants in the United States ending up in low-wage, often

exploitative situations. Why do you think these patterns still

exist?

• If it were up to you to make the decision, would you grant

the undocumented workers that you meet in the film legal

residence status and the opportunity to become U.S. citizens?

Why or why not?

• What barriers kept Maura from seeing her kids for 18

years? What policy changes could have prevented this from

happening? If it were up to you to make the decision, would you

allow her to bring her children to the United States to live with

her? Why or why not?

Joann and Lupe at Ellis Island.

Photo courtesy of “Made in L.A.”

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Discussion Prompts

Season

• Investigate the status of pending legislation designed to

improve working conditions (for example, the Protecting

America’s Workers Act and the Decent Working Conditions and

Fair Competition Act). Meet with or contact your elected

epresentatives to let them know how you want them to vote on

these acts. Consider crafting local versions of these bills to

apply at the state, county or municipal level.

• Learn more about the immigration reform legislation that

has been debated in the Senate. Consider how the legislation

would impact the kinds of workers we meet in the film. Meet

with or contact your elected representatives to let them know

how you want them to vote on the legislation. Consider working

with local groups around these issues.

• Work with local immigrant communities and labor groups

to create and distribute basic worker rights information written

in workers’ native language(s).

• See what you can find out about the working conditions in

the factories that made the clothing you wear. Ask local

retailers what they know about the people who make the

clothing they sell. Share the information you find and

encourage people to support manufacturers who provide high-

quality wages and working conditions.

• In the film, Maura comments that many apparel

companies are currently manufacturing their clothing in other

countries. Research the reasons why some of these companies

are moving their operations overseas. Learn more about the

garment industry in other countries and what you can do to

support international fair labor practices.

• Track how often local media cover worker issues and how

frequently they use workers as “experts” for stories or

interviews. Meet with representatives from news media to

share your findings and help them develop the contacts they

need in order to cover workers’ stories.

Garment worker Maura and organizer Joann in front of the US Capitol

during the national tour of their boycott against retailer Forever 21.

Photo Almudena Carracedo

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Taking Action

Season

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Resources

Season

FILM-RELATED WEB SITES

Original Online Content on P.O.V. Interactive

(www.pbs.org/pov)

P.O.V.’s

Made in L.A.

Web site

www.pbs.org/pov/madeinla

The companion website to Made in L.A. offers exclusive

streaming video clips from the film, a podcast version of the

filmmakers interview and a wealth of additional resources,

including a Q&A with the filmmakers, ample opportunities for

viewers to “talk back” and talk to each other about the film, and

the following special features:

MYTHS AND REALITIES

The debates over immigration taking place in Congress, in

the media and in communities across the country have

generated a lot of myths and misunderstanding of the

issue. How much do you know about immigrants and the

realities of their lives in the United States? Read over our

list and take an interactive quiz at "The New Americans"

website on PBS Online.

WATCHING MADE IN L.A.

For Lupe, Maura and María, their three-year legal battle

for fair working conditions and wages represented a

commitment to weekly meetings, public speaking and

picket lines. P.O.V. asked four other activists and writers

on the front lines of the immigration and sweatshop

reform issues to respond to the themes and people in the

documentary.

P.O.V.’S MAQUILAPOLIS [CITY OF FACTORIES] WEBSITE

www.pbs.org/pov/maquilapolis

Visitors to the site can read interviews with Elizabeth

Grossman, author of High-Tech Trash, Alisa Gravitz, director of

Co-op America, and Dan Porter, vice president of marketing at

Idealswork, regarding environmental issues and the impact of

industry on the environment. And footage not included in the

documentary as well as video diaries of the promotoras (factory

workers who fight for workers' rights) are also available online.

P.O.V.’S WAGING A LIVING WEBSITE

www.pbs.org/pov/wagingaliving

Visitors to the site can download a series of podcast conver-

sations about the struggles of low-wage earners in America.

These interviews include a discussion with Nickel and Dimed

author Barbara Ehrenreich, filmmaker Roger Weisberg and

journalist David Brancaccio, as well interviews with experts —

including historian Howard Zinn — by Democracy Now! host

Amy Goodman about poverty, the minimum wage, 10 years of

welfare reform and the outcomes of living wage campaigns

across the country.

P.O.V.’S FARMINGVILLE WEBSITE

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2004/farmingville/

Visitors to the site can read more about the historical

background of immigration, access an FAQ on day laborers in

New York and navigate an interactive map that details Latino

population growth in the United States. They can also read the

transcript from the forum “Learning from Farmingville:

Promising Practices for Immigrant Workers,” hosted by The

Brookings Institution with filmmakers Carlos Sandoval and

Catherine Tambini.

ACTIVE VOICE

www.activevoice.net

Active Voice is a team of strategic communications specialists

who put powerful film to work for personal and institutional

change in communities, workplaces and campuses across

America. The organization is proud to include Made in L.A. as

part of its Global Lives initiative, a curated collection of films

about refugees and immigrants in 21st-century America. More

information and case studies are available on the website.

What’s Your P.O.V.?

P.O.V.’s online Talking Back Tapestry is a colorful,

interactive representation of your feelings about

Made in L.A.

Listen to other P.O.V. viewers talk about the film

and add your thoughts by calling 1-800-688-4768.

www.pbs.org/pov/talkingback.html

Garment Worker Organizations

SWEATSHOP WATCH

www.sweatshopwatch.org

Why do sweatshops exist? How do the World Trade Organization

and globalization affect garment workers? How can one shop

responsibly? Find out more at Sweatshop Watch, an organi-

zation that believes that "workers should earn a living wage in

a safe, decent work environment and that those responsible for

the exploitation of sweatshop workers must be held

accountable."

SWEATFREE COMMUNITIES

www.sweatfree.org

Founded in 2003, SweatFree Communities helps local

campaigns aimed at convincing school districts, cities, states

and other institutional purchasers to adopt "sweatfree"

purchasing policies and stop tax dollars from subsidizing

sweatshops and abusive child labor. The organization also

assists sweatshop workers around the world in improving

working conditions and forming strong unions.

GARMENT WORKER CENTER

www.garmentworkercenter.org

Filmmakers Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar followed

the Garment Worker Center's boycott and lawsuit against

retailer Forever 21. Find out more about the Los Angeles-based

organization at its website, which also has information on the

Forever 21 campaign and current campaigns.

WORKER RIGHTS CONSORTIUM (WRC)

www.workersrights.org

The WRC assists in the monitoring and enforcement of

manufacturing codes of conduct adopted by colleges and

universities to ensure that factories producing clothing and

other goods bearing the schools’ names and logos respect the

basic rights of workers. The site includes the codes of conduct,

affiliate schools, a factory disclosure database and investigative

reports.

CLEAN CLOTHES CAMPAIGN

ww.cleanclothes.org

Garment workers around the world suffer terrible working

onditions and poor wages. At this nonprofit's website, find out

about campaigns to protect garment workers in India,

Cambodia, Turkey and the Philippines.

UNITED STUDENTS AGAINST SWEATSHOPS

http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/

This organization of students is active at more than 200

campuses. Use its site to access organizing guides for

launching a campaign to make your school free of products

produced in sweatshops.

UNITE HERE

www.unitehere.org

The Unite Here website provides information on how to stop

sweatshops and preserve worker rights from a union

perspective.

General Labor Organizations

INCLUSION

www.inclusionist.org

Inclusion is a think tank focused on identifying and promoting

new ideas for better jobs while stimulating and shaping the

dialogue about improving low-wage work to benefit our

economy, workers and communities. The website offers

charts/data, relevant publications and links to labor-related

blogs.

NATIONAL LABOR COMMITTEE (NLC)

www.nlcnet.org

The NLC investigates and exposes human and labor rights

abuses committed by U.S. companies producing goods in the

developing world. The website includes updates on pending

legislation and reports on conditions at specific factories

around the world.

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Resources

Season

FAIR LABOR ASSOCIATION (FLA)

ww.fairlabor.org

The FLA, a cooperative effort of industry, higher education and

ivic groups, conducts independent monitoring of adherence to

international labor standards. The website includes a set of

workplace standards as well as standards for corporate and

consumer responsibilities.

SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION (SEIU)

www.seiu.org

SEIU is an organization of 1.9 million members who are working

to achieve better wages, health care and more secure jobs

across North America. The bilingual website includes job

postings and resources about health care and public services.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

www.dol.gov

The U.S. Department of Labor is the government’s enforcement

agency for fair labor practices and safe workplaces. The

website includes information about current regulations.

CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL POLICY

www.clasp.org

CLASP works to improve the lives of low-income people by

improving economic security, educational and workforce

prospects, and family stability of low-income parents, children,

and youth to secure equal justice for all. CLASP's website

provides access to cutting-edge research, insightful policy

analysis, and information on advocacy at the federal and state

levels.

History

SMITHSONIAN

http://americanhistory.si.edu/sweatshops/

"Paid by the piece, seamstresses worked 16 hours a day during

the busiest seasons, but their income rarely exceeded bare

subsistence. Making matters worse was, shop owners were

notorious for finding fault with the finished garments and

withholding payment." According to this article posted by

George Mason University, those were the conditions garment

workers endured in 1820. Find out what, if anything, has

changed.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: INTERNATIONAL LADIES

GARMENT WORKER UNION (ILGWU)

http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/ilgwu.htm

Eleanor Roosevelt was a strong supporter of women garment

laborers. The website of the Eleanor Roosevelt National

Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York, features an article on the

history of the ILGWU, "one of the most important and

progressive unions in the United States."

CORNELL UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR

RELATIONS: THE TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE

http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/

In 1911, a fire erupted in a garment factory in New York City,

killing 146 of the company's 500 employees. The tragedy

became a rallying event for garment workers unions. Read all

about the fire, including the original "New York Times"

coverage, and check out slideshows of photographs of early

20th-century sweatshops at this remarkable site.

LOWER EAST SIDE TENEMENT MUSEUM: GARMENT

INDUSTRY

http://www.tenement.org/Encyclopedia/garment.htm

Much of New York City's history is rooted in decades as a

garment manufacturing center. Learn more about how the

industry evolved and relied on immigrant workers at the Lower

East Side Tenement Museum's website.

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Resources

Season

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, BUREAU OF LABOR

STATISTICS: TEXTILE, TEXTILE PRODUCT, AND APPAREL

MANUFACTURING

http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs015.htm

Textile, Textile Product and Apparel Manufacturing

What does the future hold for the apparel and textile industry?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there will be an

estimated 46 percent decline in overall garment industry

employment between now and 2014, despite a projected 14

percent increase in employment in the United States. Find out

why at the Department of Labor's website.

Immigration

NATIONAL IMMIGRANT SOLIDARITY NETWORK (NISN)

www.immigrantsolidarity.org

NISN is a coalition of immigrant rights, labor, human rights,

religious, and student activist organizations from across the

country, the network organizes diverse campaigns to fight anti-

immigrant sentiment, support immigrant workers rights,

combat sweatshop exploitation and end racism. The website

includes legislative updates, information about local events and

activities and concrete ideas on how to get involved in the

immigrants’ rights movement.

NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM

www.immigrationforum.org

The United States is a nation of immigrants. Established in

1982, the National Immigration Forum advocates and builds

public support for policies that support immigrants and

refugees.

NATIONAL NETWORK FOR IMMIGRANT

AND REFUGEE RIGHTS (NNIRR)

www.nnirr.org

The NNIRR is a national organization composed of local

coalitions, immigrant, refugee, community, religious, civil

rights and labor organizations, and activists. The website

includes immigration fact sheets, curriculum and information

about local organizations nationwide.

FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM (FAIR)

ttp://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer

Commonly known as FAIR, the Federation for American

mmigration Reform is a national nonprofit organization

dedicated to the notion that U.S. immigration policies must be

reformed to serve the national interest. FAIR seeks to improve

border security, to stop illegal immigration and to promote

immigration levels consistent with the national interest. Its

website includes legislative backgrounders and analyses.

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (AFSC)

http://www.afsc.org/immigrants-rights/default.htm

Want to learn more about immigrants' rights and recent

immigration patterns? Find out more at the website of the

AFSC, an organization founded in 1917 by Quakers. The AFSC

also maintains a blog covering the immigration policy debate.

LUTHERAN IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE SERVICE

www.lirs.org

Since 1939, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has

worked with service, advocacy and educational partners

nationwide to bring new hope and new life to America’s

newcomers. LIRS resettles refugees, protects unaccompanied

refugee and migrant children, advocates for fair and just

treatment of asylum seekers, seeks alternatives to detention

for those who are incarcerated during their immigration

proceedings and stands for unity for families fractured by unfair

laws. More information about their programs and services are

available on the website.

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Resources

Season

Civil Rights / Latino Issues

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA (NCLR)

www.nclr.org

The NCLR — the largest national Latino civil rights and

advocacy organization in the United States — works to improve

opportunities for Hispanic Americans. The website offers policy

updates, publications and information about local chapters

across the country.

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION (ACLU)

http://www.aclu.org/immigrants/index.html

As one of the nation's leading advocates for the rights of

immigrants, refugees and non-citizens, the ACLU has filed

countless lawsuits that challenge unconstitutional laws and

practices. Find out more at the ACLU's web site.

HISPANICS IN PHILANTHROPY

www.hiponline.org

HIP is a transnational network of grantmakers committed to

strengthening Latino communities across the Americas by

increasing resources for the Latino and Latin American civil

sector and encouraging Latino participation and leadership in

philanthropy. The website offers information on HIP's network,

programs and activities.

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

Resources

Season

To order

Made in L.A.

go to: www.madeinla.com

Discussion Guide | Made in L.A.

How to Buy the Film

Season

Produced by American

Documentary, Inc. and entering its

20th season on PBS, the award-

winning P.O.V. series is the longest-running series on television to

feature the work of America’s best contemporary-issue independent

filmmakers. Airing Tuesdays at 10 p.m., June through October, with

primetime specials during the year, P.O.V. has brought over 250 award-

winning documentaries to millions nationwide, and now has a Webby

Award-winning online series, P.O.V.’s Borders. Since 1988, P.O.V. has

pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent

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today’s most pressing social issues. More information about P.O.V is

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Major funding for P.O.V. is provided by PBS, the John D. and Catherine

T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the

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Arts, and public television viewers. Funding for P.O.V.'s Diverse Voices

Project is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with

additional support from JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the official

sponsor of P.O.V.'s 20th Anniversary Campaign. P.O.V. is presented by a

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P.O.V. provides Discussion Guides for all films as well as curriculum-

based P.O.V. Lesson Plans for select films to promote the use of

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P.O.V. Interactive

www.pbs.org/pov

P.O.V.’s award-winning Web department produces a Web-only

showcase for interactive storytelling, P.O.V.’s Borders. It also produces

a Web site for every P.O.V. presentation, extending the life of P.O.V. films

through community-based and educational applications, focusing on

involving viewers in activities, information and feedback on the issues.

In addition, www.pbs.org/pov houses our unique Talking Back feature,

filmmaker interviews, viewer resources and information on the P.O.V.

archives as well as myriad special sites for previous P.O.V. broadcasts.

American Documentary, Inc.

www.americandocumentary.org

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia company

dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories

that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream-

media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing

collaborative strategic-engagement activities around socially relevant

content on television, online and in community settings. These activities

are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to

educational opportunities and community participation.

Front cover: Garment worker Lupe Hernandez addresses

the crowd at a rally.

Photo Joann Lo

The P.O.V. 20th Anniversary Collection

is a limited-edition DVD collection

produced in partnership with Docurama.

The collection contains 15 titles

reflecting the range and diversity of

P.O.V. films, including the series'

inaugural broadcast, American Tongues,

by Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker.

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