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
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
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
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
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
BETTY DUKES, PATRICIA SURGESON, CLEO PAGE, CHRISTINE KWAPNOSKI, DEBORAH GUNTER, KAREN WILLIAMSON AND EDITH ARANA, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated,Plaintiff,
vs.
WAL-MART STORES, INC.,
Defendant
/ Case No. C-01-2252 MJJDECLARATION OF UMI JEAN MINOR IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION
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DECLARATION OF UMI JEAN MINOR IN SUPPORT Case No. C-012252 MJJ
OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION
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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Umi Jean Minor, Declarant
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DECLARATION OF UMI JEAN MINOR IN SUPPORT Case No. C-012252 MJJ
OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION