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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, Dawn Sweeny, declare:
1. 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.
2. I have
worked at Wal-Mart for approximately 10 years. I am female.
3. I began
working for Wal-Mart, Inc. on May 25, 1993 as a Bakery Associate in the Stillwater, Oklahoma store. I am currently a Co-Manager at Store 3285 in
Cedar Hill, Texas.
4. During my tenure at Wal-Mart, I have worked
in seven different stores throughout Oklahoma and Texas. In all stores in both states, I received
information from a centralized computer system, also called the Store Manager’s
Workbench. Store Managers and Co-Managers only have access to the Workbench.
From these tools, I have discerned that personnel policies and practices in the
stores relating to compensation, promotion, discipline, and training are the
same.
5. When I
started in Stillwater, Oklahoma as a Bakery Associate, I was paid one dollar
less than a man whose name I no longer recall. We were hired for the same
position and received training at the same time. Neither of us had prior
experience.
6. While in Stillwater, I was denied promotions
into management positions repeatedly. In 1994, I spoke a number of times to my
Co‑Manager, Joe Flack, and my Store Manager, David Mooneyhan,
about my interest in becoming a Support Manager. They told me they would consider promoting
me. This was before the computer system
for expressing interest in a job was in place, so jobs were advertised by word
of mouth or, on occasion, sign up sheets were posted. In approximately 1995, I applied for two
Support Manager positions by expressing interest on a sign up sheet. I was
neither interviewed nor selected for either. Instead two men, whose names I no
longer recall, got the positions. I never received any explanation or learned
who had gotten the position. Despite my repeated expression of interest in
management, I was not offered an opportunity to join the management training
program during my first four years at Wal-Mart. I was given no guidance on how
to get training and no application forms were made available to me.
7. I left Wal-Mart in 1997 because I could not
get promoted into the Management Training Program. In March 1998, a female District Manager,
Janet Hatfield, and a female Store Manager, Bonnie Summers, recruited me back
to Wal-Mart, offering me a position of Support Manager in the Richardson, Texas
store and assuring me that I would be promoted into the Management Training
Program shortly.
8. In July
1998, David McKinsey, the District Manager, approved
Bonnie Summers' recommendation that I enter the Management Training Program. I
trained at Store 1216 in Carrollton, Texas. When I entered the program, my pay
was reduced from $13.15 to $10.81 per hour.
As a result, my salary was $27,500.
I am aware of male associates, Jerry [last name unknown] and Ron Lockridge who were paid up to $40,000 when they entered the
Management Training Program.
9. After
completing the Management Training Program, I was transferred to Oklahoma City
to work as an Assistant Manager at Store 2804.
From January 2001 through June 2001, I applied for five Store Manager
positions. I applied for the positions
through the computerized system, called MCS, and was interviewed for all of
them. Four of the positions went to
men. I once was notified by e‑mail
that I had not gotten the promotion. The
other times I received no notification and would find out the position had been
filled because it no longer was posted as an opening. I followed up with Lisa Heilman, the Regional Personnel Manager in Oklahoma City to
ask why I wasn't getting these positions.
Ms. Heilman just told me to keep applying.
10. In July
2001, I transferred to a Wal-Mart in Colony, TX as Assistant Manager. There was only one other female Assistant
Manager in the store. For the first 2
months, I was a day Assistant Manager and then was scheduled for the overnight
Assistant Manager shift. The Store
Manager in Colony was a male named Jodie Dean.
Store Manager Dean communicated more with male than female Assistant
Managers. For example, Store Manager
Dean would conduct meetings with male Assistant Managers in his office but did
not invite female Assistant Managers to join.
11. On one
occasion when I was the only female in a meeting, Store Manager Dean made a
derogatory comment about large women and a Co-Manager, Gary Schultz, asked me
to leave the room so that he could make a return comment. I refused to leave
and the conversation ended. Two other males, Jessie Franco and Doug Richard
were also present at this time.
12. In
October 2001, I wanted to be promoted to Store Manager and so I contacted Nikki
Bayne, my Regional Personnel Manager. Ms. Bayne told me that I needed to become
a Rising Star to be eligible for promotion.
I contacted Jim Strauss, my District Manager, and asked to be placed on
the Rising Star list because of my interest in being promoted. District Manager
Strauss came into the store the next day and told me that he would place me on
the list. I was given my Rising Star badge that same month. Jim Brasher was the other Overnight Assistant
Manager in the Colony store at that time.
Mr. Brasher said that he had been surprised a few weeks earlier when
Store Manager Dean and District Manager Strauss announced they had put him on
the Rising Star list. Mr. Brasher also
told me that he did not have to ask to be put on the list.
13. Rising Star Assistant Managers, Co‑Managers
and Store Managers are supposed to attend Holiday and Year-End meetings. I was
the only Rising Star in my store who was not invited to attend any of the
meetings. District Manager Strauss selected Will Baird, Jodie Dean, and Jesse
Franco – all men -- to attend the meetings.
When I learned I would not be able to attend the meetings, I asked my
Store Manager Dean to re-consider the decision.
Mr. Dean told me there were no slots available. To this day, even as
Co-Manager, I have not been invited to attend any Holiday or Year-End meetings.
14. In March
2002, District Manager Jim Strauss told me a Co-Manager position would be
available in Colony, Texas. There was a
TLE district manager, Greg Epling, who was offered
the position prior to me. Mr. Strauss
told me that he would offer me the position if Mr. Epling
turned it down. After Mr. Epling turned down the
position, Mr. Strauss offered the position to me and I accepted. The position was not posted. In fact, previously when I asked about where
Co‑Manager positions were posted, I was told that they are not.
15. In May or
June 2002, District Manager Strauss asked me if I would accept a position as
Store Manager of a Neighborhood Market store.
I turned down the offer because my salary would have been reduced significantly
since Neighborhood Markets are not as profitable as Wal-Mart stores.
16. A couple
of weeks later, District Manager Strauss asked me to transfer to Store 3285 in
Cedar Hills, Texas as a Co‑manager.
I felt like I was being forced out of Mr. Dean's store and that if I
turned down the position that I would not be able to progress at Wal‑Mart.
17. Now, I
earn $45,000 per year. In contrast, Tim
Long, the other Co-Manager in my store told me that he earns at least $47,500
annually.
18. Within the past month I have applied to three
additional Store Manager positions on MCS, the computerized system and have
interviewed for two of them, but was not contacted or interviewed for the
third. I am still awaiting the outcome of these but plan to continue applying
for Store Manager positions until I reach my goal.
19. I declare under the penalty of perjury of the
laws of the United States and State of Texas that the foregoing is true and
correct.
This
declaration was signed by me on April _____, 2003, in Euless, Texas.
_____________________________________
Dawn Sweeny