The FABRIC Act
The Buy Your Values campaign is pleased to join hundreds of labor groups, businesses, and other organizations in endorsing The Fashioning Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change (FABRIC) Act.
Modeled on California’s historic Garment Worker Protection Act, the FABRIC Act would end piece rate pay and implement hourly pay for garment workers. In addition, the Department of Labor would create a nationwide garment industry registry that promotes transparency and enforcement. Finally, the law would allow for new rules that would make fashion labels, manufacturers, and retailers collectively liable for violations.
The Key Provisions of the FABRIC Act:
- To create world-leading protections in apparel production, this worker-led bill also amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to include:
- The establishment of a nationwide garment industry registry through the Department of Labor to promote transparency, hold bad actors accountable, and level the playing field.
- New requirements which hold fashion brands and retailers alongside manufacturing partners jointly accountable for workplace wage violations to incentivize responsible production, starting at the top.
- Setting hourly pay in the garment industry and eliminating piece rate pay until the minimum wage is met to ensure jobs with dignity. Productivity incentives on top remain protected.
To incentivize domestic manufacturing, the bill introduces:
- The establishment of a multimillion-dollar Domestic Garment Manufacturing Support Program to supply grants to manufacturers for equipment costs, safety improvements, and training and workforce development. Nonprofits focused on manufacturing workplace development may apply as well.
We look forward to the much-needed accountability that the legislation would bring to the garment industry nationally.
To learn more about the FABRIC Act, click here.
To sign the petition, click here.
For more ways to take action, click here.
