Shameless ([info]liminalia) wrote in [info]bipolypagangeek,
2009-11-06 08:32:00
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Bath & Body Works employee fired for being Pagan

http://www.examiner.com/x-18484-Sacramento-Pagan-Spirituality-Examiner~y2009m10d26-A-boycott-against-Bath-and-Body-Works

Gina Uberti, in this case is Wiccan and had been prior to hiring with this company. Every year for the last six years of her eight year employment, she would take the week of Sahmain off and head to Salem, Massachusetts to celebrate the holiday. Her leave had been approved almost a year prior to the incident.

In 2008, a new manager had been hired into Uberti’s store and had called Uberti to discuss why she was unavailable to her employers during her vacation. She also expressed her disappointment in the fact that Uberti would take a vacation during such a critical time in the company. Uberti informed her manager that the leave was approved almost a full year before. After her manager inquired as to why she would take that particular week off, Uberti disclosed her religious beliefs and explained what she believed and why October 31st was such an important holiday.

Her manager replied, “that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, let me ask you where your priorities should have been?” Uberti asked what was so ridiculous and was told, “Well, you will need a new career in your new year” and “I will be damned if I have a devil-worshipper on my team.” Uberti was fired shortly after the phone call.

Because this is pending litigation, B&BW cannot say anything other than "no comment" until the case is resolved. However, I recommend going to their site and emailing them, if it be your will, to tell them that their Wiccan and Pagan customers will be withholding their custom until this matter is resolved in a just manner.

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/helpdesk/index.jsp?display=store&subdisplay=contact&isStoremanDriven=yes&stillHaveQuestion=yes

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  • 25 comments

[info]5251962

November 6 2009, 15:30:58 UTC 2 years ago

Wow. Just...holy shit, that's...no words.
Well til the strongly worded email. Then there will be words. :P

[info]hexeengel

November 6 2009, 15:43:09 UTC 2 years ago

Ganking this to post elsewhere, thank you.

[info]liminalia

November 6 2009, 15:52:08 UTC 2 years ago

Quite welcome.

[info]nachtrabe

November 6 2009, 15:46:39 UTC 2 years ago

I am cynical enough to say: Be careful about emailing until we have all of the facts and see what kind of defense Bath and Body Works puts up.

I'd suggest not being too vicious in your response to Bath and Body Works. All we have right now is the complaint from one side, and there are several possibilities here which include:

1) Bath and Body Works could end up handling this quickly and professionally. The manager in question could be fired or otherwise reprimanded, and the case could be settled out of court.

2) Bath and Body Works could end up producing evidence that this employee had become a poor fit for this job recently, or was simply unable to work with this manager for personal reasons. This would imply she was fired for other reasons, and, er, *stretched* the truth slightly in her complaint.

Given that this could end up being settled very quickly and in any case likely is the result of one bad manager and not something systemic to the company (the complaint indicates problems with this manager, but no issues with the previous one), saying how we will boycott or otherwise punitively approach them until they make it right--especially pending a legal case--just makes us come across as reactionary. By all means write to state your concerns and disappointments and indicate that you are following this case closely, but please remain civil and don't overreact until we have more details to go off of.

[info]liminalia

November 6 2009, 15:51:42 UTC 2 years ago

Nowhere did I suggest being vicious, or even impolite. All I said was that Pagans might want to withhold their custom until the matter is resolved. I do not regard that as an unreasonable approach, and corporations care about one thing: the bottom line. Pointing out that their bottom line will be hurt if they are perceived to condone intolerance is not a crazy, vicious thing to do, it's flexing our consumer muscle. They need to know that a large number of their customers care about this issue.

[info]nachtrabe

November 6 2009, 18:34:00 UTC 2 years ago

Not everything posted here is a direct reply addressing you. I did not imply that you suggested "being vicious, or even impolite," but merely pointed out that one should refrain from being such after seeing someone already say there would be a "strongly worded email" and noting the numerous comments elsewhere ranging in tone from polite to resigned to downright ugly.

Regarding boycotts, I am profoundly uncomfortable with convictions being made before there is even enough evidence on the table for a trial. Finding people or groups guilty "in the court of public opinion," even pending an actual investigation, is disturbing to me.

So by all means write them a polite letter stating your interest in the case. They'll get the message that it is important and may affect their bottom line without the explicit threat, and then you can make a better informed decision when all of the facts are on the table. If you feel there is a substantial likelihood that they (as a company) are in the wrong and feel the need to boycott them, then I would simply politely indicate that due to your deep concern you won't buy their products until this situation is resolved satisfactorily.

[info]awfulhorrid

November 6 2009, 16:41:01 UTC 2 years ago

I don't think we shop at this store anyway, but I think I will make sure to not shop there now. Thanks for the information.

[info]blaisepascal

November 6 2009, 16:43:44 UTC 2 years ago

I find these boycott requests often frustrating -- or distressingly easy. I rarely go to BB&B, so my letter would end up being "Dear BB&B: You recently fired Ms. Uberti for being pagan. This is intollerable. I have spent $50 in your stores over the past two years, and until this situation is rectified, I won't spend a penny more." It's laughable in it's threat level.

[info]vixenesque93

November 6 2009, 16:56:26 UTC 2 years ago

Yep--this.

[info]5251962

November 6 2009, 17:12:20 UTC 2 years ago

For me it is not so much the boycotting- I don't buy my bath and body stuff there, because the quality is shit. Lol I make my own. But, the point of the letters is to make the company on the whole aware that people pay attention. I think that the letter writing is more effective personally and usually does lead to some form out out of court settlement.

[info]wytchelf

November 6 2009, 17:13:44 UTC 2 years ago

Wow, I am incensed over this. I have written a curt email to the company regarding my witholding my patronage until this matter reaches a satisfactory ending. Honestly, you would think we still live in the dark ages. Thanks for posting this.

[info]oblivious_man

November 6 2009, 17:25:28 UTC 2 years ago

I doubt very much that this particular manager's actions were indicative of the entire company's stance (for one thing nobody is going to open themselves up to THAT kind of litigation problem in this "politically correct" -era)

Since it is "pending litigation" - the only thing the company could say at this point would be "no comment" until an official statement could be made.

Don't jump the gun and start marching forth with torches & pitchforks 'til we hear both sides of this tale.

[info]liminalia

November 6 2009, 17:32:53 UTC 2 years ago

Since it is "pending litigation" - the only thing the company could say at this point would be "no comment" until an official statement could be made.

I believe I already said the exact same thing above.

Don't jump the gun and start marching forth with torches & pitchforks 'til we hear both sides of this tale.

Again, nowhere do I suggest a "witchhunt" against B&BW. However, as 5251962 said above, letting companies know people are watching and concerned does tend to move the ball in the right direction. I'm sure it probably was one bad manager. the question is how the corporation deals with that--do they sweep it under the rug or reinforce to their entire culture that this is bad and illegal?

[info]vixenesque93

November 6 2009, 17:47:31 UTC 2 years ago

I'd like to hear the manager's side of this.

[info]nachtrabe

November 6 2009, 17:59:03 UTC 2 years ago

They can't "sweep it under a rug," this isn't some news report on TV. There is a lawsuit that they have to handle which they are (most likely) going to settle out of court with the individual in question. They will abide by the terms of the settlement, and that will be the end of it. If they act like most companies, then they will want to keep this out of court.

It also may be the case that the woman is stretching the truth in her claim, but to know this we have to wait and see what the company releases in their own legal response, if anything.

[info]alextiefling

November 6 2009, 19:50:30 UTC 2 years ago

What do you mean by 'politically correct' here?

[info]misslynx

November 6 2009, 17:43:24 UTC 2 years ago

Just sent in my e-mail to them - polite and diplomatic, but making the point that I will not purchase anything from them until Ms. Uberti receives an apology and compensation, and they institute a clear anti-discrimination policy to prevent future incidents.

One note to to anyone else planning to contact them via that form - there are form validation elements that make it annoyingly difficult to submit it from anywhere other then the US. If you are in Canada, it does allow you to specify a Canadian province - but then won't allow you to submit it with a Canadian postal code in the "zip/postal code" field. :-/ I put in a fake US zip code and then added my real postal code in a P.S. to the letter.

[info]questaree

November 6 2009, 19:31:46 UTC 2 years ago

It is worth pointing out that the EEOC has given permission to sue under their rules. This usually rules out cases that are a) without merit or b) frivolous. This gives more credit to Ms. Uberti's case.

However, having worked retail management, I am highly surprised that she was able to get this time off to begin with. We always did our best to accommodate requests, but most companies view this as "blackout." It didn't matter what religion you are, you weren't going to get a full week off anytime after the middle of October until January.

[info]allerion

November 6 2009, 20:45:35 UTC 2 years ago

It does say that she'd been working there for 8 years at that point, and she'd been taking that week off for six years. Maybe she received special dispensation after two years of working there?

[info]liminalia

November 6 2009, 22:40:16 UTC 2 years ago

She wasn't a store clerk but in regional sales.

[info]feedle

November 7 2009, 01:29:51 UTC 2 years ago

This isn't 100% true. I spent a number of my years working at RadioShack, and without question I was able to get the 31st and the 1st off from my store manager, and only once was it a major issue to get three days off for Beltane (that year we were short-staffed, so I understood).

Granted, I worked hard and only called in sick when I was legitimately ill. I suspect that in many cases, if you have a good working relationship with your store manager it's not an issue.

[info]akasha63

November 6 2009, 20:11:15 UTC 2 years ago Edited:  November 6 2009, 20:18:37 UTC

I just sent a comment thru the B&BW site. The manager has no right to require an explanation as to vacation dates. THen no right to terminate the employee due to her religious preferences. Wrong, just so wrong.

I have re-posted this onto my personal LJ and Facebook.

[info]tiffyangel

November 7 2009, 18:42:55 UTC 2 years ago

Same here! And I used to work for B&BW... o_o

[info]allerion

November 6 2009, 20:47:46 UTC 2 years ago

I'm going to withhold my full opinion until this goes through litigation. I have known some oversensitive pagans to see religious persecution where there was none, and that may well be the case here.

That said, this looks and smells like a case of a religiously-intolerant manager.

[info]hockeycat

November 7 2009, 01:55:55 UTC 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing this. I've copied it to my own journal, and will probably do the same to my FB. I agree with the other comments that state that we don't know both sides (and probably wont' know both sides), but that doesn't mean that we can't speak with our wallets.
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