Anna sent a message to Marvin R. Ellison President of J. C. Penney Company Inc.- email address that said:
Mr. Ellison,
I have read about and you actually was quite inspired. I am a 17 year old female that lives in Missouri. I have always worked in Domestic Violence and Homeless Shelters volunteering but I thought I would give JC Penny's a try. I was hired on as the seasonal staff in Springfield at the Battlefield Mall. Right away I was excited to learn the way. When I would shop in the store all of the employees looked so excited and that too was inspiring. I am emailing you to let you know what a horrible experience this has been. Almost right away us teens were spoken "down to" One of other staff members even told me that if I said anything to anyone about what I saw, they would do everything they could to get me fired. As I was only seasonal and working in the fitting rooms, I wasn't sure what I would see that would put me in a position to report these findings. Every night I was scheduled to get off at 11:30pm and every night myself and the other teens were kept working until 2:00am - or later while our parents in the parking lots were sleeping in their cars waiting for us to get out. If they do not wait in the cars, the supervisors will actually make us wait in the parking lot alone while they go to their cars and leave us all standing out there. My parents , along with the other parents, could not fathom, how they could keep us so long and then expect us to get up for school the next day at six am. ( You can check all of our time sheets to see I am being factual)
Sir, I have put in my resignation today after much thought. I hope you can find the time to address this with this store. Many younger people want to become a fixture of this industry, that is how we will work out way through college. I appreciate your time and God Speed.
Anna
