HOST INTRO: The surge of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has led many brick-and-mortar businesses to temporarily close and, as a result, lose revenue. While some companies are taking an economical approach to this by laying off workers, others are taking an ethical approach and making their employees their priority. One such company is Aerie, a U.S. intimate apparel retailer owned by American Eagle Outfitters. Known for their inclusive marketing campaigns and refusal to retouch the models in their images, the company has built a positive reputation for putting morals over money. However, they have recently come under fire from their employees who feel like lately, that hasn’t been the case. Alex-Nicole Edwards has the story.
TRACK: Things weren’t adding up for Selena Robinson, a 21-year-old stock lead who’s worked for Aerie for nearly five years, when she checked her work schedule for the week.
ACT: SELENA: The beginning of March I started to see my hours had drastically changed – I wouldn’t say drastically but. . .It used to be 35-40 hours a week because I am a stock lead. My hours started to change to 24-28. So, I started getting four-and-a-half-hour shifts or four-hour shifts when I would usually get between seven to nine hours.
TRACK: She was surprised when her boss gave her the news.
ACT: SELENA: I found out that the store would be closed the night of March 16th. My store manager had a conference call within corporate and the district managers. And she had told us that March 17th would be our last day closing.
TRACK: On March 17th Aerie posted a statement to their Instagram account. They confirmed that their U.S. and Canada stores would be closed until March 27th, and that they would “ensure [their] associates receive pay during [that] time”. The post, which currently has over 18,000 likes, garnered a lot of positive feedback. One comment, which earned a reply from the company, read: “so glad to see a company taking the needs and rights of their employees seriously. Thank you for treating the people who work in your stores with dignity and respect”. However, many employees didn’t feel like they were being respected at all.
ACT: SELENA: I felt like it was sneaky and funny, just for the simple fact they said that they would be paying all employees. However, I noticed that March 15th, if I’m not mistaken, was the day that they took all employees off the schedule. And it was just managers and myself. So, I asked some of my friends and they was like ‘no we’re not getting paid, we’re not on the schedule’. I felt like they shouldn’t have put that statement out there, that they were paying all their employees knowing that they weren’t.
TRACK: Selena wasn’t the only one who felt that way. One Instagram comment read: “I LOVE working for Aerie. I am currently a sales associate at the Spring St location in NYC. HOWEVER!!!! I would like to let everyone know that we are not being compensated as this post makes it seem. Yesterday, all of our shifts were cut. I usually work 30 hours a week and I was left with 1 shift. This shift is what I will be paid for, not my average 30 hours. Many of my friends were taken off the schedule completely and they will not be paid at all. This post is very misleading and all of the part time employees at my store have been advised to apply for unemployment”. There was no response from the company. . .While many associates’ hours had been cut down to zero, a select few were kept on the schedule while stores remained closed.
ACT: SELENA: I was getting paid during the store closures. Between March 17th, which was the last day, and April 3rd I was getting paid. A couple of the employees had sent me a text message and they was like, we’re on the schedule, was told not to say anything, and that they would be temporarily on the schedule. So, they started getting paid as well.
TRACK: This didn’t last long, however. On April 5th, after nearly three weeks of stores being closed, Aerie posted a statement to their website stating that all employees were temporarily furloughed and would not be paid during that time. Although their “expectation is for associates to return to work when business conditions return to normal”, it is unclear when that will be.
ACT: SELENA: I haven’t gotten any word since last week, when the stores would reopen. We usually get weekly updates from our store manager because she has weekly conference calls. It’s taking longer than expected, but I haven’t gotten any word on that.
TRACK: The company encourages all employees to file for unemployment during the furlough. However, a large amount of their retail staff is composed of teenagers and young adults who are likely unfamiliar with the process. As unemployment applications have reached historic heights and benefit websites frequently crash, applying for aid can be a difficult road to navigate.
ACT: SELENA: I did file for unemployment on April 8th because I wasn’t going to be able to, you know, fend for myself being unemployed. I feel like the company should have at least told their employees the proper steps to filing for unemployment. Cause a lot of people, you know, Aerie or American Eagle was their first job. I know for me, Aerie was my first job. So, when it came time for me to file for temporary unemployment, I was confused, you know. I had a lot of questions. I had no answers.
TRACK: In addition to helping them file for benefits, Selena feels like the company owes their employees a little bit more.
ACT: SELENA: I just hope that the company do decide to send out their apologies for basically lying and saying that they were paying their employees knowing that they weren’t. I feel like they should also send out letters, you know, emails, updating them as well because when it comes to the managers and, you know, the higher up people it’s just within them and the employees know nothing. They have plenty of questions, I’m sure. So, I feel like that’s something that the company should be doing.
TRACK: While employees may never receive those apologies, they now know where they stand. When business is back to normal, the company may find that their employees aren’t as loyal as they were before. For Baruch College, I’m Alex-Nicole Edwards.