What clean carwash worker center does

CLEAN Carwash Worker Center is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)-style nonprofit worker center founded in 2007 as the first carwash worker center in the United States. It organizes, advocates for, and trains car wash workers (carwasherxs) across Los Angeles County and Southern California, with a stated mission of empowering immigrant and working-class workers to drive lasting change in an industry characterized by wage theft, denial of rest breaks, and unsafe chemical exposure. Its core deliverables are grassroots organizing and outreach, legal advocacy for wage recovery (including facilitating the largest carwash citation in California history, $2.4M against Playa Vista Car Wash), and a one-of-a-kind peer-led Detail Program that teaches auto-detailing skills (buffing, waxing, polishing, claying, interior steam cleaning) using a worker-developed curriculum.

CLEAN's product surface spans four distinct lines: (1) the worker-center itself, providing organizing, outreach, and civic-action programming; (2) the Detail Program, a workforce-development initiative; (3) CleanWash Mobile LLC, a worker-owned cooperative incubated by CLEAN since 2021 that delivers mobile car wash and detailing services to corporate vehicle fleets and individual consumers at $100-$375 per service; and (4) the "A Better Car Wash" consumer-facing certification and directory that flags ethically operated car washes to consumers. CLEAN played a central role in the 2014 permanent enactment of California's AB 1387 (Car Wash Worker Law), which created a statewide wage-theft restitution fund unique to the car wash, garment, and agricultural industries.

The organization's business model is grant-funded philanthropy rather than commercial revenue: services to carwasherxs are free, and operations are sustained by a diversified roster of 14+ foundation funders including the Weingart Foundation, Liberty Hill Foundation, Omidyar Network, National Employment Law Project, and the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock. Distribution runs through grassroots field organizing, social channels (Instagram @cleancarwash, @cleanwashmobilellc), earned media (LA Times, Fast Company, Univision, KTLA), and direct outreach at workplaces, with a 10-11-person staff led by Executive Director Flor Melendez. CleanWash Mobile LLC contributes modest fee-for-service revenue from fleet and consumer detailing but is incubated and not a primary revenue engine.

Name

clean carwash worker center

Legal name

CLEAN Carwash Worker Center

Website

https://cleancarwash.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CLEAN Carwash Worker Center is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit worker center founded in 2007 that organizes, trains, and advocates for car wash workers (carwasherxs) across Southern California, operating the country's first carwash worker center and incubating CleanWash Mobile LLC, a worker-owned cooperative.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Advocacy and Worker Organizing Services

NAICS

Car Washes (811192)

SIC

Services-Automotive Repair, Services & Parking (7500)

akta.pro primary industry

Fleet/Vehicle & Equipment Exterior Washing (Residential/Light Commercial) (HSAEAMAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Organizations (HLAJAKAI)

Keywords

• Worker center organizing
• Labor advocacy services
• Auto detailing training
• Worker cooperative incubation
• Wage theft recovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Grant Funding: CLEAN operates primarily through foundation grants and community support. Funders include National Employment Law Project, Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, Liberty Hill Foundation, Weingart Foundation, Ben & Jerry's Foundation, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Tides Foundation, Prevention Institute, CA Community Foundation, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Community Partners, Omidyar Network, Employment Training Panel, and Latino Community Foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CLEAN Carwash Worker Center organizes, advocates for, and trains car wash workers (carwasherxs) in the Los Angeles area through grassroots community organizing, peer-led professional development (the Detail Program), and civic advocacy. It also incubates worker-owned enterprises (CleanWash Mobile LLC) and operates a consumer-facing directory (A Better Car Wash) that recognizes fair-labor car washes.

Product overview

CLEAN Carwash Worker Center is a grassroots nonprofit worker center (not a technology company) that offers workforce development and advocacy services. Its core product is the worker center itself, which provides organizing, outreach, and advocacy for carwash workers. The Detail Program is a peer training sub-product teaching auto detailing skills. CleanWash Mobile LLC is a worker-owned cooperative business that emerged from the organization, providing mobile car wash services. The 'A Better Car Wash' program is a consumer-facing certification identifying fair car washes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• A Better Car Wash: A consumer-facing certification/flag program for car wash businesses that treat workers with dignity and respect, providing fair workplace standards and protections from wage theft.

Products and services

• CLEAN Carwash Worker Center (organizing and advocacy services) Grassroots worker center providing organizing, outreach, advocacy, skills-building workshops, and civic action to empower car wash workers (carwasherxs) and address wage theft, workplace safety, and labor rights violations in LA County.
• Detail Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Playa Vista Carwash cited $2.4 million for minimum wage and overtime violations - largest carwash citation in California history
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• United Steel Workers Local 675 (USW 675)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007CLEAN began as a joint campaign with USW 675 in 2007. In the first six years, they supported efforts to organize the first carwash in U.S. history and helped USW 675 achieve 50 union shops at their organizing peak. This partnership established the foundation for CLEAN's unique community-worker center model.
• National Employment Law ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation funder supporting CLEAN's work for sustainable operations
• Prevention InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation/organizational partner in health and safety initiatives
• Community PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganizational partner supporting CLEAN's operations
• CleanWash Mobile LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe first carwash worker co-op in U.S. history, incubated by CLEAN. A cohort of CLEAN carwasherxs built this worker-owned mobile car wash business providing services to companies with vehicle fleets. CLEAN continues to support its development through incubation.
• Los Angeles CountymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOVID-19 community health partnership where carwasherxs conducted vital outreach distributing PPE kits, protective measure guides, and helping community members in hard-struck areas like South LA get vaccinated.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United): Worker center organizing restaurant workers for better wages and conditions. Directly comparable as an industry-specific worker center using grassroots organizing, peer training, and policy advocacy — the same playbook CLEAN uses in the car wash industry.
• Centro de los Derechos del Migrante: Migrant worker center providing legal support, organizing, and advocacy for migrant workers. Directly comparable as a worker-center organization serving immigrant, low-wage workers with similar organizing, advocacy, and legal-support functions to CLEAN.
• Coalition of Immokalee Workers: Worker-based human rights organization organizing farmworkers in Immokalee, FL. Directly comparable as an industry-specific worker center that has won landmark Fair Food Program commitments from major buyers — analogous to CLEAN's AB 1387 win in the car wash industry.
• National Domestic Workers Alliance: National worker center advancing rights and organizing for domestic workers. Directly comparable as a worker-center organization using similar organizing, advocacy, and worker-empowerment models to CLEAN, but focused on the domestic work industry.
• National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON): National network of day-laborer worker centers organizing immigrant day laborers. Directly comparable as a federation of worker centers using similar grassroots, immigrant-led organizing models to advance worker rights in low-wage service work.

Broad incumbents

• United Steel Workers (USW): Major industrial labor union that co-founded CLEAN in 2007 and helped USW 675 organize the first car wash. Broadly comparable as a traditional labor union that CLEAN bridges toward via its hybrid worker-center-union model, and as a former core strategic partner.
• Jobs With Justice: National coalition linking labor unions, worker centers, faith groups, and community allies to improve working conditions. Broadly comparable as a larger, more established labor/worker-center alliance of which CLEAN's model is a member-style affiliate.
• Interfaith Worker Justice: National network of faith-based worker centers and worker-justice organizations. Broadly comparable as a larger network advancing worker rights through coalitions and worker centers — analogous in mission to CLEAN but operating across many industries.

Emerging players

• Casa Latina: Seattle-based day-laborer worker center providing organizing, worker-owned cooperative services, and training. Comparable as a worker center that, like CLEAN, has incubated worker-owned economic alternatives and provides peer-led training — but operates at smaller scale and in a different geography.

Regional players

• Workers Justice Project: NYC-based worker center organizing day laborers and domestic workers. Comparable as a worker-center organization using community organizing and worker-led models similar to CLEAN, but operates in New York rather than California.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cleancarwashla
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clean-carwash-worker-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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