Editor’s Note: the following story, which was thoroughly researched during a period extending from mid – 2006 to mid – 2007, was offered to several Lower Mainland newspapers. Few expressed an interest in it. The only newspaper that did express an interest, in the end, reluctantly refused to run it because all of the anonymous sources quoted (two of which I had spoken to personally) were afraid to let their names be made public because they feared repercussions from Value Village. Or they feared that friends still working in Value Village would be harassed by the chain’s management. The other sources were communicated with through email and the interviews were carried on it that fashion; they generally validated the claims made by the other people I had met.
I repeatedly attempted to contact various members of Value Village management by email but no responses were ever forthcoming.
“A hellhole!” is how some past and present Value Village staff members, about 80 % women, have described working conditions at Lower Mainland outlets of North America’s largest seller of used clothing and second hand goods. PROFITS AS HIGH AS $8 MILLION.
Many employees posting on the Retail Workers website describe crowded, poorly ventilated backrooms piled high with bags of clothing sometimes containing black mold, bedbugs, spiders and even dead animals. Such claims have been supported by local employees.The September/October 2001 Archives of Environmental Health told how Black Mold (Stachybotrys) spores, which contain Macrocylic Trichothecenes, may cause harm when inhaled or ingested.Store employees also face harassment from vindictive and inconsistent supervisors. “[During the meeting] the DM suggested I go home and [consider] whether I could support changes needed to make the store successful. [The DM] told how pleased she was at my decision to support such changes,” she recalled.However, upon returning the next day, she received very shabby treatment: she was terminated. Many people wrongly think Value Village is a charitable organization, with all its profits going to worthwhile causes. In fact the company, founded by Bill Ellison in 1954 in San Francisco, is now an international for-profit thrift store operation run from Bellevue, Washington by Ellison’s son, Tom. After purchasing merchandise from non-profit vendor organizations like charities, it resells to the public through its chain of 208 retail thrift stores in Canada, the United States and Australia, employing more than 9000 people worldwide.
Growing strongly and now known as Savers Inc., the company claims it benefits more than 110 local non-profit organizations by purchasing and reselling donated items, and says it has paid over one billion dollars directly to its partner charities since its founding. Between 1995 and 2005, it grew from 100 to over 200 stores, and aims for further growth. Value Village’s website claims contributions to seven BC charities – five branches of the Big Brothers and Sisters Organization (BBBS), the Canadian Diabetes Association's (CDA) Clothesline and the Developmental Disabilities Trust (DDT). According to the web site, The BBBS organizations are located in Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George, Vancouver and Victoria. The Canadian Diabetes Association’s head office is in Ottawa and the Developmental Disabilities Trust is located in Richmond. Information received from the manager of Greater Vancouver branch of the BBBS organization says that the total contribution to the end of 2006 by Value Village amounted to $10,000 for a mentoring program in Chilliwack. Not all its “partners” in the BC charity community stay thrilled with Value Village. The Prince George branch of BBBS ended its seven-year connection with Value Village in mid-2005. “Our Board made the decision [to end the relationship] based on the fact that [Value Village] had unilaterally reduced the amount they paid us on the product received at the store…without renegotiating our contract,” explained Executive Director Sandy Whitwham. “They also proposed a new three year contract with annual reductions of 25 cents per okay (the company’s delivery unit) in the price they paid as well as [annual reductions] in the amount of product they would take from us,” she remembered. Whitwham said Value Village also wanted more furniture and “miscellaneous” items, neither of which the charity would be paid for – and fewer cloth goods, for which it was paid – and a 2 year non-competition clause. “Our net income would have [been about] $36,000 per year lower by the end of the proposed contract,” she said. A central problem for major charities dealing with Value Village is that they are forced to negotiate in isolation. “[This is a condition] of the Value Village contract - to not disclose the specifics of our individual contracts,” stated the Director.
A Langley woman, “Miss Monster”, described her first two weeks of Value Village employment.
“[As well as miscarrying] in my first month of pregnancy, I also had insomnia and was coughing up black shit. I was so sick I could barely walk or drink anything.” She believes she was sickened by the black mold permeating her store’s air. She was also severely bitten by bedbugs and pulled her groin twice. Neither the Fraser Health nor the Vancouver Coastal Health Authorities have reported complaints related to Value Village. “Susannah”, also employed for three months in mid-2005 in a Lower Mainland store, agreed that many Value Village outlets are toxic workplaces. “Most women I worked with were sick a lot, colds mostly and chest infections.I … have never felt so abused by management in my life”, she said, describing how she and her fellow workers opened donation bags loaded with filth, two loaded handguns, bear parts, dead mice, dead kittens, used sex toys, used feminine hygiene products and animal feces. Also rampant were spiders, mold, mildew, fleas, and other insects. She saw many injuries on the job. “I witnessed women falling, slipping and banging their heads on the rails in the production dept. Most weren't given any sympathy or concern at all [but were] encouraged to resume their duties after five minutes’ recuperation,” she recalled. Once, following a hot August day’s power outage, she was directed by management to clear the electrical room of housekeeping equipment, sale signs and assorted other stuff, before BC Hydro showed up to re-set the power – and to put it all back after Hydro crews left. Truck fumes from the loading dock flooded into the production area. Staff members were also subjected to non-stop noise. “Music in the production room was cranked high to discourage women from talking – which also prevented us from hearing warnings when dangerous situations occurred.” “The only person allocated gloves for hygiene purposes was the "sorter", the rest of the production line, hangers, pricers etc were given none,” she explained.
Backroom employees working a certain merchandise stream at one Lower Mainland store are expected to meet the following quotas during their shift: women’s wear 2000 items, men’s 800 - 900, children’s/infants’ 750, house wares 1200, bed & bath 800, book 450, footwear 200 and garage150. These quotas often put a great deal of stress on employees. For example, 2000 women’s wear items per shift works out to approximately four and a half items per minute. Workers on the incoming end of things are expected to sort at least seven carts (about four tons) a day although, as one former store manager told me, they would prefer to get “eight out of you”. All new employees start off at about $9 per hour, which increases at six months and then on annual basis – if they pass a performance review. When a store’s sales target is met, all store employees receive a bonus. “[But not very often], because [sales targets] are set ridiculously high,” cautions the former manager, mentioned above. According to this former store manager, the average Lower Mainland outlet, with a staff about 20 and open about 70 hours per week, spends about $12,600 per week on wages. Expected revenues would be about $25,000 per day or $175,000 per week. Average weekly income for Lower Mainland and Island stores ranged from $40,000 to $107,000 per week – the latter number a one week total for the Victoria, Vancouver Island, store. “…the total bottom line for all stores ranges between $30,000 and $65,000 per week,” she estimated.
An executive suite member calling himself Deep Throat put the value of donations in a different light: charities, when contracting with Value Village, promise that 25% of the goods that they bring to the store will be “hard” goods and miscellaneous items – for which they will not be paid. This means, he indicated, that if one calculates the total amount of goods the charities bring to the store and compares that amount to the under 75% of the goods for which they are actually paid (soft goods like clothing), the unit cost to Value Village falls to about $7.44 per Okay. “Deep Throat” summarized Value Village’s 2004 fiscal situation in Canada as follows: “second hand” sales were $240,968,381 for Value Village along with $8,770,953 in Halloween sales (from which the company pays nothing to its charity partners) for total sales of $250,729,287.“Generally speaking [profits] range from 20-30%. Depending on the location...some might actually run as high as 35%.”
Fuck that.
Growing strongly and now known as Savers Inc., the company claims it benefits more than 110 local non-profit organizations by purchasing and reselling donated items, and says it has paid over one billion dollars directly to its partner charities since its founding. Between 1995 and 2005, it grew from 100 to over 200 stores, and aims for further growth. Value Village’s website claims contributions to seven BC charities – five branches of the Big Brothers and Sisters Organization (BBBS), the Canadian Diabetes Association's (CDA) Clothesline and the Developmental Disabilities Trust (DDT). According to the web site, The BBBS organizations are located in Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George, Vancouver and Victoria. The Canadian Diabetes Association’s head office is in Ottawa and the Developmental Disabilities Trust is located in Richmond. Information received from the manager of Greater Vancouver branch of the BBBS organization says that the total contribution to the end of 2006 by Value Village amounted to $10,000 for a mentoring program in Chilliwack. Not all its “partners” in the BC charity community stay thrilled with Value Village. The Prince George branch of BBBS ended its seven-year connection with Value Village in mid-2005. “Our Board made the decision [to end the relationship] based on the fact that [Value Village] had unilaterally reduced the amount they paid us on the product received at the store…without renegotiating our contract,” explained Executive Director Sandy Whitwham. “They also proposed a new three year contract with annual reductions of 25 cents per okay (the company’s delivery unit) in the price they paid as well as [annual reductions] in the amount of product they would take from us,” she remembered. Whitwham said Value Village also wanted more furniture and “miscellaneous” items, neither of which the charity would be paid for – and fewer cloth goods, for which it was paid – and a 2 year non-competition clause. “Our net income would have [been about] $36,000 per year lower by the end of the proposed contract,” she said. A central problem for major charities dealing with Value Village is that they are forced to negotiate in isolation. “[This is a condition] of the Value Village contract - to not disclose the specifics of our individual contracts,” stated the Director.
A Langley woman, “Miss Monster”, described her first two weeks of Value Village employment.
“[As well as miscarrying] in my first month of pregnancy, I also had insomnia and was coughing up black shit. I was so sick I could barely walk or drink anything.” She believes she was sickened by the black mold permeating her store’s air. She was also severely bitten by bedbugs and pulled her groin twice. Neither the Fraser Health nor the Vancouver Coastal Health Authorities have reported complaints related to Value Village. “Susannah”, also employed for three months in mid-2005 in a Lower Mainland store, agreed that many Value Village outlets are toxic workplaces. “Most women I worked with were sick a lot, colds mostly and chest infections.I … have never felt so abused by management in my life”, she said, describing how she and her fellow workers opened donation bags loaded with filth, two loaded handguns, bear parts, dead mice, dead kittens, used sex toys, used feminine hygiene products and animal feces. Also rampant were spiders, mold, mildew, fleas, and other insects. She saw many injuries on the job. “I witnessed women falling, slipping and banging their heads on the rails in the production dept. Most weren't given any sympathy or concern at all [but were] encouraged to resume their duties after five minutes’ recuperation,” she recalled. Once, following a hot August day’s power outage, she was directed by management to clear the electrical room of housekeeping equipment, sale signs and assorted other stuff, before BC Hydro showed up to re-set the power – and to put it all back after Hydro crews left. Truck fumes from the loading dock flooded into the production area. Staff members were also subjected to non-stop noise. “Music in the production room was cranked high to discourage women from talking – which also prevented us from hearing warnings when dangerous situations occurred.” “The only person allocated gloves for hygiene purposes was the "sorter", the rest of the production line, hangers, pricers etc were given none,” she explained.
Backroom employees working a certain merchandise stream at one Lower Mainland store are expected to meet the following quotas during their shift: women’s wear 2000 items, men’s 800 - 900, children’s/infants’ 750, house wares 1200, bed & bath 800, book 450, footwear 200 and garage150. These quotas often put a great deal of stress on employees. For example, 2000 women’s wear items per shift works out to approximately four and a half items per minute. Workers on the incoming end of things are expected to sort at least seven carts (about four tons) a day although, as one former store manager told me, they would prefer to get “eight out of you”. All new employees start off at about $9 per hour, which increases at six months and then on annual basis – if they pass a performance review. When a store’s sales target is met, all store employees receive a bonus. “[But not very often], because [sales targets] are set ridiculously high,” cautions the former manager, mentioned above. According to this former store manager, the average Lower Mainland outlet, with a staff about 20 and open about 70 hours per week, spends about $12,600 per week on wages. Expected revenues would be about $25,000 per day or $175,000 per week. Average weekly income for Lower Mainland and Island stores ranged from $40,000 to $107,000 per week – the latter number a one week total for the Victoria, Vancouver Island, store. “…the total bottom line for all stores ranges between $30,000 and $65,000 per week,” she estimated.
An executive suite member calling himself Deep Throat put the value of donations in a different light: charities, when contracting with Value Village, promise that 25% of the goods that they bring to the store will be “hard” goods and miscellaneous items – for which they will not be paid. This means, he indicated, that if one calculates the total amount of goods the charities bring to the store and compares that amount to the under 75% of the goods for which they are actually paid (soft goods like clothing), the unit cost to Value Village falls to about $7.44 per Okay. “Deep Throat” summarized Value Village’s 2004 fiscal situation in Canada as follows: “second hand” sales were $240,968,381 for Value Village along with $8,770,953 in Halloween sales (from which the company pays nothing to its charity partners) for total sales of $250,729,287.“Generally speaking [profits] range from 20-30%. Depending on the location...some might actually run as high as 35%.”
Fuck that.
