In January 1990, Levi Strauss closed a San Antonio, Texas, factory and shifted the work abroad, destroying the livelihoods of approximately 1,150 seamstresses, some of whom had spent decades producing the company's jeans. The closure became a flashpoint for the labor movement because the workers were not simply dismissed: their jobs were exported to Costa Rica while Levi Strauss accelerated its transition away from U.S. manufacturing. Former employees formed Fuerza Unida, or 'United Force,' to challenge the company's labor policies and demand justice for workers left behind by globalization. During the mid- and late 1990s, the group picketed Levi Strauss's San Francisco headquarters and organized hunger strikes and sit-ins, turning the dispute into a highly visible confrontation between a celebrated American heritage brand and the women whose labor had built its domestic production base. The protests foreshadowed Levi Strauss's eventual closure of its remaining U.S. factories, including the last San Antonio plant in 2003, ending roughly 150 years of continuous U.S. jeans manufacturing by the company.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1990s
The San Antonio Factory Closure That Sparked Fuerza Unida's Hunger Strikes
Levi Strauss & Co.; Fuerza Unida / 1990s
In January 1990, Levi Strauss closed a San Antonio, Texas, factory and shifted the work abroad, destroying the livelihoods of approximately 1,150 seamstresses, some of whom had spent decades producing the company's jeans. The closure became a flashpoint for the labor movement because the workers were not simply dismissed: their jobs were exported to Costa Rica while Levi Strauss accelerated its transition away from U.S. manufacturing. Former employees formed Fuerza Unida, or 'United Force,' to challenge the company's labor policies and demand justice for workers left behind by globalization. During the mid- and late 1990s, the group picketed Levi Strauss's San Francisco headquarters and organized hunger strikes and sit-ins, turning the dispute into a highly visible confrontation between a celebrated American heritage brand and the women whose labor had built its domestic production base. The protests foreshadowed Levi Strauss's eventual closure of its remaining U.S. factories, including the last San Antonio plant in 2003, ending roughly 150 years of continuous U.S. jeans manufacturing by the company.
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