Specialized Accused of Withholding Worker's Wages

Specialized, one of the most popular cycling manufacturers, is being sued for not paying workers who manufactured apparel for the California-based company.

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

The quote was accompanied by a picture of six persons, of which five held signs.

"Specialized! It's time to # at APS El Salvador," stated one sign.

APS, a Salvadoran garment factory, manufactured apparel for Hanesbrands, Gildan Activewear, Kellwood Company, and Specialized Bicycle Components until its closure in August 2022, according to a Worker Rights Consortium Factor Assessment released March 2024. Per the report, the WRC "initiated an investigation into the factory's failure to pay this compensation in response to a complaint from three Salvadoran unions whose members worked at the factory."

After the manufacturing operations ceased, the country's Ministry of Lab learned that APS failed to pay legally owed wages, severance, and terminal benefits over almost $2 million. According to PayYourWorkers, a coalition of over 280 trade unions and labor rights organizations around the world, Salvadoran workers rely on wages earned because when a business shuts down, workers must fend for themselves as there is no unemployment fund in the country. To help workers, the WRC urged all four brands to meet their financial obligations as required by El Salvador and each company's code of conduct.

To date, Kellwood Company and Gildan Activewear are the only companies that have agreed to meet some degree of their financial obligations. Both companies agreed to pay APS workers $1.34 million–only 67% of their outstanding balance–according to WRC.

Hanesbrands and Specialized collectively owe workers over $650,000 for services previously rendered.

"Hanesbrands, pressed repeatedly to act, ultimately offered a contribution that represents a

minuscule fraction of the money owed to the workers."

Despite its website's claim of "promot[ing] human rights…in our supply chain," WRC notes that Specialized has failed to respond to requests from APS factory workers, their unions, and international allies for the APS workers' legally outstanding compensation.

Specialized contests WRC's position.

In a statement to Cycling Weekly, the bike manufacturer's spokeswoman, Kelly Henningsen, stated, "Specialized takes its commitment to responsible manufacturing very seriously. We have been in constant communication with our supplier that utilized this El Salvador factory in the past and have clearly communicated our expectation that the workers' claims be handled and resolved appropriately." Additionally, "While we are not privy to the details of the ongoing legal process involving the workers and the factory, we have been monitoring and will continue to monitor the matter in close cooperation with our supplier and are looking forward to a resolution through the local process and in accordance with our expectation."