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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 |
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SHEILA
Y. THOMAS (SBN 161403) 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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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 |
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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 |
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
I, Nancy Martin, declare that:
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
full-time for a Wal-Mart Store in Janesville, Wisconsin in May 1989 as a
customer service manager making $3.50 an hour.
In my application, I wrote that I was applying for a management trainee
position. Attached hereto as Exhibit A
is a true and correct copy of my Wal-Mart Application for Employment. In the resume that I submitted with my
application, I specifically noted that my objective was “retail management
trainee position with opportunity for advancement. Willing to relocate.” I had also had experience as General Manager
of a floral and craft supply store.
Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of the resume I
submitted along with my Wal-Mart Application for Employment.
3.
Upon being hired, I
immediately and persistently spoke with both Store Manager Bob Morey and
District Manager Jeff Kraus about my interest in moving into a management
position. I spoke with them casually, as
well as during my evaluations and in individual meetings with each of them to
discuss my career goals. Each told me
that, in order for me to enter the management training program, I would be
required to relocate. I asked Mr. Kraus
if he might make an exception for me because I wished to stay with my family in
Janesville, but he refused.
4.
In 1991, I had a meeting with Mr. Morey and he told me
I could join the management training program but that I would be required to
relocate to the Whitewater, Wisconsin Wal-Mart Store, which I did. A few months later, after training, I
voluntarily relocated again in order to become an assistant manager position in
a new Wal-Mart Store in Ashland, Wisconsin.
5.
In 1995, I transferred to an assistant manager
position in a Wal-Mart Store in Anchorage, Alaska. While I was working in Anchorage, Alaska, a
new male assistant manager, John Halpaus, was hired. I learned that he was making $6,000 more than
I was. At the time, I had been an
Assistant Manager for four years longer than he had been. I had always been told I would be fired for
discussing salary issues so I never discussed this pay difference with anyone
for fear that I might lose my job.
6. In the Summer of 1995, I initiated the development of a new scheduling program in the Anchorage, Alaska Wal-Mart. I had a meeting with District Manager David Carmen about the program. In that meeting, Mr. Carmen criticized the work I had been doing with the scheduling program but he did not give me any ideas about ways I could improve. He then told me I had been assigned a “problem” store and that I was never going to go anywhere in my career at Wal-Mart. I was surprised by these statements and, during the conversation, I got the feeling that Mr. Carmen did not like me and did not want me in my position. I then spoke with Store Manager Mark Divis about my meeting with Mr. Carmen and he told me not to worry about it and to just get the scheduling done. He also did not give me any information about ways in which I could get assistance developing this program. Finally, I decided to contact customer service managers in several Wal-Mart Stores in the lower 48 stores in order to get the guidance and support that I needed to develop and implement what eventually became a successful scheduling program.
7. In 1998, I was still interested in advancing in my career at Wal-Mart. In May 1998 I agreed to transfer as an assistant manager to another Anchorage, Alaska Wal-Mart Store because District Manager Mark Divis (recently promoted from Store Manager) told me it would improve my chances of promotion.
8.
That same month, I also had a meeting with the store
manager in my new store, Gary Harvey, about my career goals. I told him I was still interested in
advancing in my Wal-Mart career. Mr.
Harvey told me that I was not yet ready to move into co-manager position in
part because I had come from a “bad” store.
He did not elaborate on what that meant.
He told me he wanted to “see what happens” in the future but he would
make no commitments towards my future advancement or me.
9.
In October 1998, I transferred to a Wal-Mart Store in
Richland Center, Wisconsin in order to care for my ill mother. In August 2000, while an assistant manager in
Richland Center, Wisconsin, I noticed a posting on the manager’s computer
system (The Manager’s Workbench) for an assistant manager position in
Anchorage, Alaska. I called Alaska
District Manager (he had since been promoted from Store Manager) Gary Harvey to
discuss the possibility of moving up in my career at Wal-Mart Stores in
Alaska. Mr. Harvey was non-committal,
only stating that he didn’t know of anyone who had moved back into an Alaska
Wal-Mart after having moved out and he wasn’t sure if it was even
possible. This statement led me to
believe he was not interested in helping me advance in my Wal-Mart career in
Alaska and I felt he was trying to discourage me from even trying. By this time, I had talked with at least
five different managers over a period of nine years and not a single one had
encouraged my interest.
10.
Despite Mr. Harvey’s discouraging words, I decided to
apply for this lateral move. I had an
interview with a female Regional Personnel Manager Stacey Simon. Within a
week, she told me I was qualified and had gotten the position.
11.
In September 2000, I asked for meeting with District
Manager Harvey to discuss my career advancement at Wal-Mart. Despite having been an assistant manager for
ten years and receiving excellent evaluations, Mr. Harvey told me he didn’t
think I could “handle” being a store manager and that I would have to wait
another three to five years before he might allow me to manage a “small”
store. I found this extremely
discouraging and demoralizing. At that
time, I really started to doubt whether I was ever going to receive the
management support necessary for me to successfully advance in my career at
Wal-Mart. The following year, a position
came open for a store manager in an Alaska Wal-Mart. In order to post for a position, I knew that
I needed to have the approval of my district manager. Based on my conversation with Mr. Harvey, I
was certain that he would not give his approval so I did not bother to apply.
12.
A couple of months after my conversation with Mr.
Harvey, I saw Regional Personnel Manager Stacey Simon at a management training
about preventing union activity. During
a break, I spoke with her about my interest in moving up and whether there she
knew anything about available management positions. She told me there was nothing available at
the time. She did not give me any
information about ways in which I could improve my chances of promotion.
13. In 2001, Co-Manager Allen Manderson and I were in the manager’s office in my store discussing whether an associate should be terminated. I disagreed with Mr. Manderson’s opinion that the associate should be terminated and he responded, “You need to grow some balls.” I felt this was a highly inappropriate, sexist, and offensive comment. At the time, I was afraid to tell my current Store Manager Todd Childers because he was a buddy of Mr. Manderson’s.
14.
By late 2001, it became abundantly clear to me that I
was not going to be allowed to move up in my career at Wal-Mart and that I was
not getting the support I needed from management and I began looking for other
positions. In January, 2002, I left my
employment with Wal-Mart for a position as a Branch Manager at Alaska USA
Federal Credit Union. I felt that I
needed to find a workplace where I would be encouraged to succeed. On my Exit Interview, I noted that I was
leaving due to a lack of promotional opportunities. Attached hereto as Exhibit C is a true and
correct copy of my Exit Interview.
I have personal knowledge of each and every fact set forth in the Declaration, and if called to testify as a witness in this matter, I could and would competently testify to each of these facts.
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I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States and State of __________________ that the foregoing is true and correct.
This
Declaration was signed by me on ______________________, 2003, at
_______________________.
_____________________________________
Nancy Martin,
Declarant