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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 |
|
IRMA
D. HERRERA (SBN 98658) DEBRA
A. 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 |
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SHEILA
Y. THOMAS (SBN 161403) EQUAL
RIGHTS ADVOCATES 5260
Proctor Avenue Oakland,
CA 94618 Telephone: (510) 339-3739 Facsimile: (510) 339-3723 |
DEBRA
GARDNER PUBLIC
JUSTICE CENTER 500
East Lexington Street Baltimore,
MD 21202 Telephone: (410) 625-9409 Facsimile: (410) 625-9423 |
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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 Attorneys for Plaintiffs |
SHAUNA
MARSHALL (SBN 90641) HASTINGS
COLLEGE OF THE LAW 200
McAllister Street San Francisco, CA 94102 Telephone: (415)
581-8922 Facsimile: (415) 557-7895 |
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
I,
Christine Kwapnoski, declare:
1. I am a named plaintiff in this action. I have
been employed by Wal-Mart, Inc. since 1986 and am currently in management
training, having commenced the training in March 2003. I have spent most of my adult life working
for Sam’s Clubs and was promoted only after this lawsuit was filed. I am female and live in Concord,
California.
2. I began my employment with Sam’s Club in
Grandview, Missouri in 1986 when I was 22 years old. I worked as a cashier, cash office associate
and in claims. All of my evaluations
while working in Missouri were very good.
I expressed my interest in being promoted to management in a number of
conversations with General Managers and Assistant Managers at the Grandview
club, but received no promotions. I was
never told what, if anything, I needed to do to become qualified for management
training. I was unaware of any way to
apply for a promotion or for management training. I observed co-workers, mostly male, suddenly
being moved into positions as soon as the positions were opened and before I
had an opportunity to express interest.
3. I was recognized by Sam’s Club as having
“expert” status in the area of claims while I was at the Grandview Club. This meant that associates at other clubs in
the area, who had questions, could call me for advice and guidance.
4. In late 1993, I came to Concord, California,
to help convert an existing Pace store to a new Sam’s Club. There had been a posting in the Missouri club
for this opportunity, which I understood was intended to be temporary. This
posting was unusual, as I do not recall other job opportunities being
posted. I signed up to express my
interest, and was selected to go. Part
of my responsibilities in helping to convert the club in Concord, California
was to help the former Pace employees become Wal-Mart employees. I taught Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club policies and
practices to these new Wal-Mart employees.
These policies and practices that I helped to implement in the new
Concord Club were the same policies and practices that I had learned and
followed while working in Missouri.
5. While I was working to open the new club, I
was approached by the General Manager, Robert Ortega, who asked me to transfer
permanently to the Concord club and promised me a $2.00 an hour raise. As a result of this request, I did transfer to
the Concord club in March 1994 but did not receive the promised raise.
6. My initial position at the Concord Sam’s Club
was in claims. Over the next seven
years, I held the positions of dock associate, receiving clerk/exports,
freezer/cooler associate, center section team lead, and auditing clerk. As a result of holding these positions and my
experience in the Missouri club, I was familiar with almost all areas of the
club. During these years, I received
evaluations annually, which were always good.
I received annual raises and merit raises upon occasion.
7. With my experience and good evaluations, I
believed I could be a good manager at Sam’s Club. I saw management at Sam’s as an opportunity
to have a career that would be both financially rewarding and satisfying. There was nothing in the handbook nor any
other materials available to me to explain how to become a manager. I believed I would be eventually recognized
with a promotion. I worked hard, and was
available for whatever shifts and positions I was asked to fill. I succeeded at the variety of positions I was
assigned. I continued to receive merit
raises and good evaluations. I made my
desire for promotion known to numerous managers over the years, as described
below. However, I watched as men I had
trained were selected to go into management training or received promotions
above me, as detailed below.
8. When I was working on the dock, I told the
dock lead, a man named Clark Holt, that I wanted his position as dock lead when
he left it. I wanted this position
because, based on my observation, I believed it would increase my chances for
promotion and I knew I could do it well.
I also expressed my interest in this promotional opportunity to General
Manager Alan Oshier, and to the Assistant Managers. The position became open a number of times in
the 1990s. I was the employee with the
most experience in that area, and I had expressed interest, but the job was
given to a succession of male associates including Dion Denes and Joshua
Reynolds. I had more experience in
receiving and more tenure with Sam’s Clubs than either of these men. None of these men lasted in this position.
9. When I was working as the freezer/cooler
associate, I was passed over four times for the promotion to team lead, an
hourly supervisor position, in three and a half years. During the mid to late 1990s, Doug Hailey,
Mike Montgomery, Serge Orloff and a fourth male employee whose name I cannot
recall, were given this position, despite my stronger qualifications.
10. I wanted to become an hourly supervisor, but
there was no application process.
Neither was there an organized, formal method by which supervisory
openings were routinely made known, as they were not always posted. I could only rely upon word of mouth or the
club grapevine. The Club’s grapevine was
more available to male employees, as they spent more time talking and socializing
with management employees. I did not
apply for the position when I became Center Section Team Lead. The General Manager, Alan Oshier, simply
approached me and asked if I wanted the position. A few months later, Mr. Oshier transferred me
into the position of Audit Clerk. Again,
I had not applied for the position.
11. While I was in the audit position, Mr. Oshier
yelled at me upon frequent, almost daily, occasions. I witnessed him scream at other female
employees, but seldom did he scream at men.
I complained to Director of Operations Phil Goodwin about Mr. Oshier’s
conduct but received little response.
Mr. Oshier told me that he was being demoted and was required to take
anger management classes. In fact, he
remained as our General Manager without a demotion and his abusive behavior
continued.
12. By 2000, I was the longest tenured hourly
employee at the Concord Sam’s Club, with 14 years of experience. Despite these years of experience, I was paid
virtually the same as a male associate with one-half my tenure. This male co-worker, Jon Salomone, had only
seven years of experience at Sam’s Clubs and did not have the responsibility I
did, as he was only an unloader on the dock.
When I asked General Manager Oshier why Mr. Salomone received nearly as
much as I did, Mr. Oshier responded by saying that “some people make their
beds, some people make them better.”
When I asked Mr. Oshier why he had given a large raise to another male
employee, Jose Rivera, Mr. Oshier told me it was because Mr. Rivera had a
family to support. John Naslund was
hired in 2001 in the position of verifier on the dock and was paid nearly as
much as me. Bryan Van Roo was hired in
2001 as a sales associate and was paid approximately $14.00 an hour. I was still not making a wage sufficient to
support me in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Consequently, throughout most of the years I have worked in Concord, I
have also held a second job.
13. I worked hard and continued to get good
evaluations and valuable experience but was not selected for a management
position or training. My desire for
advancement was discussed often at my annual evaluations, but I was not told
how to apply for management training or what, if anything, I needed to do to
become a manager. I discussed my
interest in going into management at Sam’s with General Managers Robert Ortega,
Alan Oshier, and Mike Bruegger, and perhaps others. I discussed this interest to join management
with Assistant Managers Nancy Hom, Ted McDavitt, and many others.
14. I continued to express interest in getting
into a management position. Several times
in 2000 and 2001, I approached General Manager Alan Oshier, and asked him what
I needed to do to get promoted. I was
never told of a process or application procedure and I was unaware of any
application process which I could use to enter the Management Training
Program. I have never seen or been told
of any form to complete to document my interest in promotion (except for the
one that was available for approximately one week in January 2003, 18 months
after this lawsuit was filed).
15. I was finally promoted to Receiving Area
Manager at the end of June 2001, two weeks after this lawsuit was filed and 15
years after I first expressed my interest in management. This is an entry level managerial position. I reported to an Assistant Manager. I was paid a salary which resulted in a
decrease in my hourly rate, as I no longer received overtime pay, and I was
scheduled to work 48-52 hours a week.
Unlike the Assistant Manager positions, Geographical Assistance Pay (“GAP”)
is not paid for Receiving Area Managers.
In Concord, California, GAP results in payment of approximately 50% more
of a manager’s salary. As a result, my
pay was approximately $38,000 as a
Receiving Area Manager while the Assistant Managers at the Concord Club made
over $50,000.
16. In late 2001, after I was promoted to
Receiving Area Manager, Mr. Oshier told me to “doll up, ” to wear some makeup,
and to dress a little better. I
responded by indicating that high heels on the receiving dock were not
appropriate. About a month later, when
standing by the time clock and in the presence of another employee, Mr Oshier
told me to “blow the cobwebs off my make-up. ”
I worked in the receiving area of the club at the time, which is a hot
and dirty job with little, if any, contact with the public. I never heard Mr. Oshier comment on the
physical appearance of male co-workers.
17. When I was given my annual review in the
spring of 2002, I was told by General Manager Alan Oshier and by Director of
Operations Phil Goodwin that I needed to be in the position of Receiving Area
Manager for one year and then I could be considered for the Management Training
Program. There is no guideline or
written requirement that an employee be a Receiving Area Manager for one year
or any time at all before going into Management Training to become an Assistant
Manager. During my 17 years with Sam’s
Clubs, I have seen a large number of male employees begin their career with
Sam’s Clubs as Management Trainees. In
the last year, for example, Joshua Wilson joined Management Training upon
completion of college. He had never worked at a Sam’s Club before. He is now an Assistant Manager in the Concord
Club. I have never known a man to be required
to be Receiving Area Manager for one year, or for any time, before being
permitted to go into Management Training.
18. During the nearly two years that I have
been Receiving Area Manager, I have received good evaluations, but no
raises. Mr. Oshier and Mr.Goodwin told
me that I would not receive any raises while in this position since I was at
the "maximum rate."
19. After being a Receiving Area Manager for a
year, I asked General Manager Alan Oshier and Mr. Goodwin when I could go into
management training to become an Assistant Manager. They said I should just continue to do what I
was doing and suggested I move to the front end to get experience there as an
Area Manager. No other Assistant Manager
had been required to be an Area Manager at all, let alone an Area Manager in
two positions before being promoted.
20.. A
new Director of Operations was assigned to supervise our club in approximately
December 2002. I approached this man,
Ross LaDoux, introduced myself, and asked when I could expect to go into
management training. He said we would
talk later, but he did not follow-up.
21. In January 2003, Regional Vice President
Greg Johnston toured our club. I had
known Mr. Johnston when we worked in Missouri together. During the intervening years, I had been
promoted to the lowest-level manager with an annual salary of less than $40,000
and no GAP, while my former coworker had risen to one of the highest positions
at Sam’s Club. Mr. Johnston remembered
me and spoke with me about our days in Missouri and about my current situation. He told me that he respected my work ethic,
and knew I was a good employee. Soon
after my discussion with Regional Vice President Johnston, Director of
Operations LaDoux approached me and said I could enter the Management Training
Program in Vacaville, commuting from my home.
I began the training in March 2003.
22. Throughout most of my 17 years at Sam’s Club,
I have been willing to relocate to advance my goals of obtaining a managerial
position. However, in the last year, I
have been involved in a family law matter and have not wanted to move my home
on short notice and more than once. I
explained this to General Manager Oshier, Director of Operations Goodwin, and
Director of Operations LaDoux. They each
refused to make any accommodation, telling me that I could not go into
management training unless I was willing to relocate for the approximate three
months of training, and then move again for my first managerial
assignment. No manager had ever told me
that this was a requirement until after this lawsuit was filed. And, until the summer of 2002, I had no
limits on relocating, and would have accepted such terms had they been
offered. Once Regional Vice President
Johnston became involved in my situation, as described above, this need to
relocate no longer existed.
23. I decided to become a named plaintiff in this
action because I have been unfairly denied promotional opportunities and equal
pay for 17 years. I have observed
countless male employees leap frog over me, despite my excellent reviews and
persistent requests for advancement. Wal-Mart management has repeatedly and falsely
promised pay increases and promotions and held me to non-///
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existent promotional
requirements. My primary goals are to
ensure that the employment practices at Wal-Mart which hinder the progress of
women wishing to enter management be changed, and to ensure fair and equitable
treatment of female employees. I
understand the responsibilities of a named plaintiff and I am prepared to
fulfill my duties to the women in the class.
24. I have personal knowledge of all the foregoing facts and, if called as a witness, could and would testify competently to each. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct under the laws of the United States and the State of California.
I declare
under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States and of the State of
California that the foregoing is true and correct.
This
declaration was signed by me on April _____, 2003 at Concord, California.
___________________________________
Christine
Kwapnoski