|
JOCELYN
D. LARKIN (SBN 110817) THE
IMPACT FUND 125
University Avenue Berkeley,
CA 94710 Telephone: (510)
845-3473 Facsimile: (510)
845-3654 |
JOSEPH
SELLERS CHRISTINE
WEBBER COHEN,
MILSTEIN, HAUSFELD & TOLL West
Tower – Suite 500 1100
New York Avenue Washington,
D.C. 20005-3964 Telephone: (202) 408-4600 Facsimile: (202) 408-4699 |
|
SHEILA
Y. THOMAS (SBN 161403) DEBRA
SMITH (SBN 147863) EQUAL
RIGHTS ADVOCATES 1663
Mission Street, Suite 250 San
Francisco, CA 94103 Telephone: (415)
621-0672 Facsimile: (415)
621-6744 |
STEPHEN
TINKLER MERIT
BENNETT TINKLER
& BENNETT 309
Johnson Street Santa
Fe, New Mexico 87501 Telephone: (505) 986-0269 Facsimile: (505) 982-6698 |
|
STEVE
STEMERMAN (SBN 067690) ELIZABETH
LAWRENCE (SBN 111781) DAVIS,
COWELL & BOWE 100
Van Ness Avenue, 20th Floor San
Francisco, CA 94102 Telephone: (415)
626-1880 Facsimile: (415)
626-2860 |
DEBRA
GARDNER PUBLIC
JUSTICE CENTER 500
East Lexington Street Baltimore,
MD 21202 Telephone: (410) 625-9409 Facsimile: (410) 625-9423 |
|
SHAUNA
MARSHALL (SBN 90641) HASTINGS
COLLEGE OF THE LAW 200
McAllister Street San Francisco, CA 94102 Telephone: (415)
565-4685 Facsimile: (415) 626-2860 Attorneys for Plaintiffs |
|
UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
I,
Trudy Crom, declare:
1. I make this statement on the basis of my
personal knowledge and, if called as a witness, could and would testify
competently to the facts herein.
2. I began working at a Wal-Mart Store in
Frisco, Colorado in 1990 in the snack bar making $6.25 an hour working
full-time. Almost immediately, I
expressed an interest in entering the management training program by speaking
with any members of management with whom I came into contact. This included Store Manager Dennis Dean,
District Manager Bill Moore, Assistant Managers Brian Wood and Michelle Koch,
and Department Manager of Menswear Bonnie Larson. I also expressed my interest in writing in at
least two evaluations while in the Frisco, Colorado Wal-Mart. In my 1990 evaluation, I wrote that I was
interested in learning as much as I could in order to “move up the la[dd]er to
ass[istant] manager.” Attached hereto as
Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of my 90-day Associate Evaluation, dated
October 12, 1990. In my next evaluation,
I wrote that “I would like to learn to do the Service Desk + Layaway [and]
learn more about CSM job, so I can advance more in the store.” Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and
correct copy of my 6-month Evaluation, dated March 12, 1991.
3. In 1993, I still had not been
promoted. I wrote a letter to Don
Soderquist at Wal-Mart Headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas about my
frustrations regarding my promotional opportunities and lack of management
support. I also expressed concern that,
with job openings not being posted, I was not being given a fair chance to
apply for positions. Attached hereto as
Exhibit C is a true and correct copy of my letter to Don Soderquist dated July
22, 1993. Shortly thereafter, Store
Manager Dean told me that the District Manager Buddy Caldwell was going to come
into the store to speak with me about the letter. I never saw him in the store that day and he
never discussed the letter with me.
4. Soon
after, I began experiencing constant criticism from Store Manager Dennis Dean
and Assistant Manager Cory Best. Both of
them would walk around my department and berate me. On more than one occasion, Mr. Best
humiliated me in front of customers and co-workers by loudly criticizing my
department on the sales floor. Nothing
like this had happened before I sent the letter. I repeatedly attempted to use the open door
about the abusive conduct by speaking with District Manager Jim Mohan,
Assistant Manager Brian Wood, and Softlines Department Managers Sharon Grove
and Tracy Parmley but they were unresponsive.
None of them agreed to do anything about the harassment that I was
experiencing and none seemed to take it seriously. I found this extremely discouraging. In March 1996, after suffering through three
years of constant harassment with no end in sight, I agreed to a $.75 pay cut,
down to $9.25 an hour, in order to transfer to the Fort Collins, Colorado
Wal-Mart Store as a Stocker.
5. Over the next three years at the Fort
Collins, Colorado Wal-Mart as a Stocker and as the Department Manager of Shoes,
I spoke regularly with Store Managers Bob Longnecker, Ed Hohlt, and Lonnie
Hirth, District Manager Jim Mohan, Assistant Managers Jack Gunn and Rick Wilms,
and the District Manager of Shoes and Jewelry Noel Mundy about my interest in
the management training program. I spoke
with them individually and during my evaluations. I also wrote in all of my evaluations that my
goal was to advance in my career at Wal-Mart and to enter the management
training program. In my 1997 annual
evaluation, I wrote in the “Associate Comments/Goal Setting” section, “My goals
in the company are to advance. I want to
move up to the training program as an Assistant Manager of Division 1…” Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and
correct copy of my Annual Associate Evaluation dated September 12, 1996.
6. In 1997, I requested a meeting with
District Manager Mr. Mohan about my Wal-Mart career goals. I again articulated my interest in becoming
an Assistant Manager. Mr. Mohan asked if
I would be willing to relocate and I told him I would. Even after the meeting and agreeing to
relocate, I did not get into the management training program for another two
years. In my 1997 annual evaluation, I
wrote, “My goals are to try and go into management and hopefully do a real[ly]
good job.” Attached hereto as Exhibit E
is a true and correct copy of my Annual Associate Evaluation dated August 12,
1997.
7. In 1998, I continued to inquire about promotional opportunities. I also continued to learn as much as I could about different departments in the hope that I would increase my chances of promotion. In my 1998 annual evaluation I wrote in the “Associate Comments/Goal Setting” section that “I hope that with all the cross training that I’ve been doing, it will help me some day soon get to my goal as a[n] Assistant Manager.” Attached hereto as Exhibit F is a true and correct copy of my Annual Associate Evaluation dated August 12, 1998.
8. In 1999, I was told by Mr. Mohan and
Store Manager Jon Ball that I could enter the management training program but,
because relocation was required, I had to transfer to the Loveland, Colorado
Wal-Mart Store. I accepted. Once my training was over, I was required to
transfer to the Lafayette, Colorado Wal-Mart Store in order to become an
Assistant Manager. I personally observed
that Ted Vasquez, with whom I had been an hourly employee in the Fort Collins
store, never had to relocate for management training or to become an Assistant
Manager. Mr. Vasquez remained as a
management trainee and Assistant Manager in the Fort Collins, Colorado
Wal-Mart.
9. In
addition, even with persistent inquiries and meetings with management
expressing my interest, it took me nine years to get into the management
training program. I know of at least one
male, Mark Zens, with whom I worked in the Fort Collins Wal-Mart, who got into
the management training program within five years of beginning his employment
with Wal-Mart. He also became a
Co-Manager in less time than it took me to even get into the training
program.
10. In 2000, while I was Assistant Manager in
Loveland, Colorado, I received what I believed to be an unfair coaching and
subsequent demotion. In my 10 years with
Wal-Mart, I had never received a coaching or any type of disciplinary
action. All my evaluations as an
Assistant Manager were rated “Exceeds Expectations.” I believed I had followed management
direction and that the situation was handled poorly by Store Manager John
Murray and acting Store Manager John Engle.
In June 2000, while Store Manager John Murray was away on vacation, he
had given written instructions to all the assistant managers to perform
coachings for those associates who worked overtime. After noticing that several associates had
worked over 40 hours, I discussed the matter with acting Store Manager John
Engle. Mr. Engle instructed me to give
these associates coachings. After doing
so, several associates complained to District Manager Mohan and myself about
the coachings. I spoke with acting Store
Manager Engle again and he reassured me that as long as I was consistent, the
coachings should remain. When Mr. Mohan
confronted both myself and acting Store Manager Engle about the coachings, Mr.
Engle denied giving me instructions to give coachings to the associates. I tried to discuss the matter with Store
Manager Murray when he returned from vacation but he refused to listen. It was at this time I received my first and
only coaching. I felt I had been
undermined and totally unsupported by management. I used the open door by speaking with
Regional Vice President Buddy Caldwell (he had since been promoted) about my
concerns. He told me he would look into
it but he never got back to me. I then
wrote and sent a certified five-page letter to Don Soderquist at Wal-Mart
headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas explaining what had happened and
expressing my concerns. I never heard
back from anyone. Attached hereto as
Exhibit G is a true and correct copy of the letter that I sent to Don
Soderquist in 2000.
I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States and State of Colorado that the foregoing is true and correct.
This Declaration was signed
by me on ______________________, 2003, at Pierce, Colorado.
_____________________________________
Trudy Crom