Approximately 200 former employees of the Industrias Florenzi garment factory in El Salvador were owed US$1.3 million in severance pay since the factory closed in July 2020. Industrias Florenzi was a supplier for Barco Uniforms, producing Grey’s Anatomy brand medical scrubs and other products.

Almost sixteen months after the factory closed, Barco Uniforms, the owner of the Grey’s Anatomy brand and a Disney licensee, agreed to make a US$1 million “humanitarian contribution” to the former workers. This victory was achieved through an extensive #PayYourWorkers social media campaign, and the tireless efforts of the workers, the Salvadoran women’s organization ORMUSA, the Worker Rights Consortium, and international labour rights organizations, including MSN.

Although the humanitarian contribution from Barco Uniforms provided relief, the former Industrias Florenzi workers still face the long-term impacts of the factory’s closure, including the ongoing struggle for just compensation. 

ORMUSA continues to provide legal support in cases regarding the factory’s failure to make pension and social security contributions on time, as well as former workers’ individual cases against the factory.

For more information:

• Visit the WRC website for information on the settlement and workers' reactions (December 2021)
• Former Florenzi workers are still struggling for just compensation (article in Spanish, June 2023)