Not cool, dude.
According to
Gawker and confirmed by
Fortune, URBN Inc., the larger company that owns Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie amongst other companies, sent out an email to employees that
goes a little something like this:
From: URBNcommunity
Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2015 12:01 PM
Subject: A Call For URBN Volunteers!
A Call for URBN Volunteers!
URBN is seeking weekend volunteers to help out at our fulfillment center in Gap, PA. October will be the busiest month yet for the center, and we need additional helping hands to ensure the timely shipment of orders. As a volunteer, you will work side by side with your GFC colleagues to help pick, pack and ship orders for our wholesale and direct customers.
In addition to servicing the needs of our customers, it’s a great way to experience our fulfillment operations first hand. Get your co-workers together for a team building activity!
The Details:
Who: Home Office URBN salaried employees
Where: URBN’s Fulfilment Center - 766 Brackbill Road, Gap, Pennsylvania 17527
What You’ll Be Doing: Pick, pack and prepare packages for shipment (please wear sneakers and comfortable clothing)
When: October 17, 18, 24, 25, and 31 Lunch will be provided
Two shifts each day: 9:00 AM – 3:00PM or 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
(you can volunteer for one or multiple days)
Transportation: If needed, URBN will provide transportation to and from GFC (details provided after sign up)
How: Sign up using this link and we will be in touch with more details. Please do not show up without signing up.
[extra emphasis mine]
According to Fortune, the fulfillment center is a big operation that needs lots of people's hands:
The sprawling Gap, Penn. facility, sought to hire as many as 500 hourly employees to fulfill orders when it opened this spring. According to a local news report, the minimum pay for those without experience was $10.80 an hour, though an URBN representative said wages tended to be higher.
[emphasis mine]
What does that even mean? Tend? They are or they are not.
Late yesterday Urban Outfitters responded to the Gawker piece.
After successfully opening our new fulfillment center in June, we asked salaried employees at our home office to volunteer for shifts that would help support the new center through a busy month of October. Unsurprisingly, we received a tremendous response, including many of our senior management. Many hourly employees also offered to pitch in – an offer which we appreciated, but declined in order to ensure full compliance with all applicable labor laws and regulations. The dedication and commitment of URBN employees are second to none, and their response to this request is a testament to their solidarity and continued success.
Many hourly employees offered, hoping to get more than their $10.80 is my guess. The fact that Urban Outfitters touts that
many senior management responded is grotesque. If you are in senior management and your corporate sends an email with the phrase
team building in it, guess what? That isn't an
optional ask. That's mandatory.