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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 CHARLES
TOMPKINS JULIE
GOLDSMITH 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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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)
565-4685 Facsimile: (415) 565-4854 |
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
I,
UMI JEAN MINOR, declare that:
1.
I have personal knowledge of each and every fact set forth in this
Declaration, and if called to testify as a witness in this matter, I could and
would competently testify to each of these facts.
2.
I have been employed by Wal-Mart, Inc. in Alabama since June 4,
1990. I am an African American female.
3.
I began my employment with Wal-Mart at a store in Selma, Alabama as a
part-time sales clerk on the day shift at a pay rate of $3.85 an hour. At that time two of my four children were still
at home and I needed full-time work.
Several months later, when Wal-Mart started hiring seasonal help, I
learned through the grapevine about a full-time opening on the night receiving
shift. The job was not posted. I got it by talking the night shift
supervisor who simply transferred me into the position. After receiving a standard evaluation on my
ninety-day review, I received a $0.15
raise to $4.00 an hour.
4.
In October 1993, a new Store Manager transferred to the Selma store
from the Homewood store. I had recently
separated from my husband and wanted to leave Selma. I was also interested in advancing with the
Company and had observed that the Assistant and Store Managers at Wal-Mart
changed stores frequently so I thought transferring to another store would be
viewed favorably. I asked the new Store
Manager if there were any openings at the Homewood store and he said he would
call the Homewood Store Manager, Gary Jones, to be sure. Later the new Store Manager told me that
Store Manager Jones had told him to tell me that there was a night receiving
clerk position open and that I should go see him the next morning at 10
a.m. When I went to see Store Manager
Jones, he told me I could start that very night at 10 p.m. I transferred to Homewood that very same day
and began working the 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift.
I stayed in a hotel for a few days until I found an apartment to
rent. Even though I had now been with
the Company for more than three years, my pay rate was only $5.60 an hour.
5.
As a single mother, I could not support my family on this wage and was
forced to take a second, full-time day job at Food Fair. At the time, I planned to work this second
job only until I was able to move to a higher paying position at Wal-Mart. I had no idea that it would take me another
seven years to obtain a management position at Wal-Mart and that I would be
working two full-time jobs for this entire period.
6.
During the almost seven years I was employed by Food Fair, I worked as
a cashier and in the Bakery-Deli Department.
My job duties included slicing meats, managing the hot food bar, baking
and decorating cakes, and serving and ringing up customers.
7.
During the time I worked in the Night Receiving Department of the
Wal-Mart store in Homewood, I received “above average” performance
evaluations. Despite my high quality
performance, my annual raises were only in the $0.20 to $0.30 an hour range.
8.
In 1995, I moved to the day shift at Wal-Mart and was promoted to
Department Manager in the Accessories Department. This was an hourly position. This job was not
posted and I did not formally apply for it.
Store Manager Jones just told me that was the job I would be
transferring to when I asked to move to the day shift. I changed my hours at Food Fair to the
evening shift.
9.
I worked as a Department Manager until 1998, and continued to receive
“above average” performance evaluations.
The annual raises I received during this period were still in the $0.20
to $0.35 cent range. After eight years
with the Company, my pay rate was still well below $10.00 an hour at $7.32.
10.
In late 1997, Wal-Mart converted the Homewood store into a
Supercenter. Because of the bakery-deli
experience I had gained at my second job at Food Fair, I expressed interest in
working in the new Bakery Department. I
told Store Manager Jones that I knew how to decorate cakes and run a bakery
because I had learned these skills early in my career at a Piggley-Wiggley
store and during my employment with Food Fair.
Store Manager Jones told me that he was not the manager in charge of
hiring for the Bakery Department.
11.
When the new manager over the
Bakery Department arrived at the store shortly thereafter, I told him about my
past experience running the bakery-deli and my interest in the cake decorator
position. He asked me for the phone
number of my references and told me that he would get back to me. The job was not posted and I did not
officially apply for it. About two days
later, the Bakery Manager informed me that I had excellent references and that
he would talk about pay with me later. I
got the job and my pay rate was increased to $9.00 an hour.
12.
The new Bakery Manager did not stay long at the Homewood store. After he left, two Caucasian women, Loretta
Wireman and Debra Smith, were transferred in as Bakery Managers. Both of these women left the job and the
company after just a few months. After
Ms. Smith and Ms. Wireman left, two more males were transferred in to run the
Bakery: Mike Blasi and Mike
Rodocker. Mr. Rodocker left the Homewood
store after about six months. Mr. Blasi
stayed on for the next two years or so.
13.
Throughout the two years that these various managers tried to run the
Homewood Bakery Department, I was interested in becoming the Bakery
Manager. I had expressed interest in
this position to Store Manager Jones as well as the Food Merchandiser, Steve
Mulford. I also told the new Bakery
Managers I worked under that I was interested in moving up in the Company. However, even though my job duties had
increased and I was actually performing the duties of a “lead” associate, I was
not promoted. Finally, Mr. Blasi
acknowledged my hard work and my job title was changed to “Bakery Lead Associate.” As with my prior job
moves, this position was not posted and I did not apply for the position. My hourly rate increased to $9.83 an hour.
14.
In May 1999, I earned a “meets expectations” on my annual evaluation
and my hourly rate was raised to $10.22 an hour. In March 2000, I received a 5% merit raise
that brought my hourly rate to $10.73. I
worked well with Bakery Manager Blasi and he supported me in my desire to
become the Bakery Manager.
15.
In approximately July 2000, Bakery Manager Blasi told me that he
thought I was capable of running the Bakery Department and encouraged me to
apply for his job. I understood from
this conversation that he would be leaving his position. When I approached
District Manager Johnson about applying for the Bakery Manager position, he
told me that he was going to send me to the Bessemer store for training. When I told Bakery Manager Blasi that
District Manager Johnson wanted me to train at the Bessemer store, he told me
that I did not need any additional training to run the Homewood Bakery. I understood from this conversation with Mr.
Blasi that if I went to Bessemer, I would not get the promotion to the Bakery
Manager position at the Homewood store.
Although I was interested in any training the company could provide that
would help me perform better and increase my opportunities, I was never
provided any training.
16.
The District Manager never sent me to the Bessemer store because
shortly after my conversation with Mr. Blasi, Mr. Blasi left the Homewood store
and I was finally promoted to the Bakery Manager position in September 2001
without any additional training. As
before, this job opening was not posted and I did not formally apply for it.
Bakery Manager is a salaried position and I asked for a starting salary of
$36,000 a year. They only agreed to pay
me $28,500. With this pay increase, I
was finally able to quit my second job at Food Fair.
17.
As of this date, I remain the Bakery Manager in the Homewood
store. Since my promotion, however,
there have been three different new male Store Managers in the Homewood
store. Aside from on-the-job training,
these Store Managers have failed to provide me with the training I requested
regarding the paper work associated with running the Bakery. Similarly, no one has provided me the
staffing I need to keep the department running smoothly. As a result, I work between 10 to 18 hours a
day. When I talk to District Manager
Johnson about additional management training, he keeps assuring me that I can
rely on Wal-Mart’s computer-based programs for everything I need.
18.
The Bakery Manager position in a Supercenter is the equivalent of an
Assistant Manager position at a regular Wal-Mart. Nonetheless, none of the Homewood Store
Managers, or District Manager Johnson, or Food Merchandiser Mulford has ever
talked to me about Wal-Mart’s Management Training Program or informed me about
how to continue my management career at Wal-Mart.
I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the United States and State of Alabama that the foregoing is true and correct.
This Declaration was signed by me on April ___, 2003 at Birmingham, Alabama.
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