US garment manufacturers operating on low margins to compete for wholesale or retail clients can’t operate in California if they have to pay all their employees $15.00/hour. To stay in business, they will have to move manufacturing out of the state or more likely out of the country.
Last week American Apparel, the biggest clothing maker in Los Angeles, said it might outsource the making of some garments to another manufacturer in the U.S., and wiped out about 500 local jobs.