Statement of Defense for American Apparel

8/14/2019 Statement of Defense for American Apparel

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To whom it may Concern,

I work for American Apparel and have been with the company since 1999, when thecompany was still small in size and was just beginning its growth. Back then, we were

located in a building on Santa Fe Avenue, right under the Santa Monica Freeway, literally.

The company was virtually unknown and all we had to worry about is keeping thecompany’s head above water and surviving. It is bothersome that people who become

successful tend to be the target of people who are good at taking advantage of other

people’s success. I am referring to the owner of American Apparel, my boss, DovCharney.

I have known Mr. Charney for over six years now and he has been the same way ever

since. He may be the most misunderstood person in the world when the topic hassomething to do with sex. He may have used vulgar language in front of people, or might

have made the work environment a little tense at times, but that is his way of encouraging

people to work as hard as he does. It’s his way of motivating people and there should be

no argument as to whether it is effective or not, because he brought American Apparel tothe success that it is, to an unbelievable growth in a short span of time. His motivational

style, and his leadership, is unique but effective, and whether people agree with it or not,is subjective, but based on its success, should be admired. It has created over 2500 jobs

for people in Los Angeles, and these employees are content and happy to work for Mr.

Charney.

Success comes with a price, and for Mr. Charney, it is coming at a high price. Vultures

circle him and when they see a chance to strike, they will do so. In my opinion, it is a

make money easy scheme and it is one of the things that are wrong with America. Insteadof looking at successful people and admiring them and trying to emulate the way success

was achieved, that is by working hard, some people take the easy path by finding alawyer willing to take a case on contingency, and sue for anything that might land them asettlement. It is definitely an easier way to make money than working hard for it. In my

view, it should be considered as stealing, won’t you agree? Find a successful person

whose business is generates a lot of income, make the person a target for any lawsuit,find a lawyer that will take the case for contingency and if the case wins, you get easy

money. You just stole that person’s fruit of hard work and labor without even helping in

attaining the success that he strove for. Is that fair? Of course not, but it happens in

reality. All the vultures are suing those successful businesses in hopes of getting a pieceof the revenue, without lifting a finger to help in its acquisition.

This brings me to my point. Mr. Charney is facing a lawsuit from a certain Mary Nelsonwho worked for the American Apparel and claims that the work environment stressed her

out and that vulgar language was used in front of her and that it made her feel violated. I

met Mary Nelson when American Apparel was still a small company under the freeway.She owned a company named WizDumb, and they used to purchase merchandise from

American Apparel. Mr. Charney and Ms. Nelson, as far as I observed, seemed to have

know each other for quite some time. This was evidenced by conversation that takes

place when they come in contact at the office. It would be a typical conversation between



old friends, some jokes, of course vulgar language was present, not only from Mr.

Charney, but from Ms. Nelson as well. I would rather not specify the vulgar language but

I am certain it does not only come from Mr. Charney but from Ms. Nelson as well. At thattime, Mr. Charney is barely making it, and American Apparel has not started it way to its

success yet. In short, Mr. Charney does not have much money nor resources in his name,

in essence, I would compare him to a newly graduated college student. He has all the potential in the world to make money but at the present, he has enough to jumpstart his

career and start his way up to success. He was, I would say, poor. During those

encounters with Mr. Charney, and let me repeat that he has been the same way ever sinceI started working for him, those vulgar languages were already exchanged between him

and Ms. Nelson, and the office environment was also at times, tense, as that is Mr.

Charney’s way of motivating people, some yelling, some cussing, but I believe that is his

way of protecting his investment of both money and hard work into the company. DidMs. Nelson file a lawsuit against Mr. Charney then? Ms. Nelson knew that Mr. Charney

had nothing at the time and I doubt she will find a lawyer to take a contingency case that

will result in zero income. If Ms. Nelson had honorable intentions rather than making

money quickly without lifting a finger, she could have sued Mr. Charney, not for money, but for principle, and that would be to help other people by making sure the work

environment would be pleasant for the employees. If it was really offensive and stressful,then she could have helped reform office procedures and guaranteed a pleasant working

environment. Since there was no way to make a quick buck out of the situation, it was not

worth her time to do anything as she will have no benefit from it.

When American Apparel started its growth, and a fast one it is, the company moved to its

present location in January of 2000. During this time, American Apparel doubled its

revenue and the future looked bright for American Apparel. On the other hand, Ms. Nelson’s company, WizDumb, was in its decline and was in financial trouble. Ms. Nelson

asked Mr. Charney for assistance to save her company from disaster. Being a great person

and friend that Mr. Charney is, he offered his helped and acquired Wizdumb from Ms. Nelson to save her credit rating and total financial ruin. American Apparel, paid off Ms.

Nelson’s creditors, and American Apparel in return gets the rights to the company

Wizdumb. When the financial troubles of Ms. Nelson’s company had been ironed outand her name saved from disaster, Ms. Nelson went and followed a different career path

and she had no business with American Apparel for years after. Not until recently, maybe

after 3 or 4 years later, Ms. Nelson again, appeared and made contact with Mr. Charney. I

believe Ms. Nelson needed a job and she proposed a deal with Mr. Charney that wouldcompensate her for any business that she will bring into the company. Her office was

right across mine and it is apparent that some of their conversations will be heard from

where my desk is located. Just like before, their conversations are comparable to how itwas in the past. A few jokes, laughter, some vulgar language, and again I stress that it is

not only one person who says vulgarities but both, some sexual comments from both and

it all seems normal to them. Let’s be honest, we all utter sexual jokes or comments to our friends or families, whether they are vulgar or not, and the demeanor that both Ms.

Nelson and Mr. Charney had only leads one to conclude that they are friends or more so,

may be considered very close friends by the way they carried out their conversations.

From my point of view, the laughter that follows most of their comments to each other



assured that they were very comfortable with each other and any sense of anyone being

offended does not exist.

On another tangent, I am not aware of the specific details of the agreement between Ms.

Nelson and Mr. Charney as far as compensation was concerned but when the reports were

generated on the sales of customers that Ms. Nelson considered her “clients”, there is nosignificant increase in sales that the company would have made without her assistance.

Ms. Nelson was more of a liability to the company than an asset because we had to

compensate for the time she claims she used in generating sales for the clients assigned toher. The increase in those clients’ sales would have been achieved without Ms. Nelson’s

help anyway. Technically, her mere presence as a sales representative for some clients

would lead to more expense for the company and make the company’s income lesser.

With this is mind there was no reason to keep Ms. Nelson on payroll and thus her termination.

Just to accentuate the kind of person Ms. Nelson really is, let’s follow her history with the

company. First she was a client of American Apparel through Wizdumb, then she got infinancial trouble and Mr. Charney extended his help to save her credit rating and

reputation, then she had no contact with the company for years, and lastly, when sheneeded income, Mr. Charney again gave her a chance by giving her a job at American

Apparel to help her out. Then when she was terminated for having a below par

performance on the job, she turns around and sues Mr. Charney for large amount of

money, saying she felt violated and stressed out by the kind of working environment sheexperienced at American Apparel, an environment that she was, for one, very much

aware. It is no surprise to her how Mr. Charney behaves at the office, they have been

acquaintances for quite a while. She knew the environment at American Apparel, yet shedid not mind it when Mr. Charney had no money, nor when she needed help on her own

company’s finances, it is unthinkable that with all the help that Mr. Charney extended to

her all these years, she has the nerve to file a lawsuit against him. Technically, she wantsa piece of the success that Mr. Charney has attained, even if she had no help in its

acquisition. She is more of a parasite that attaches to its victim and tries to suck the life

out of it slowly. I think her lawsuit is a joke and has no basis at all. People who resort tolawsuits like this just to make a quick buck should be scrutinized more. The law should

have more protection against these lawsuits by penalizing the people who file them

without real cause. Penalizing lawyers who take these cases in contingency in hopes of

making a big payday should themselves be penalized as well. This is what’s wrong withAmerica, people using the legal system to prey on the people who worked hard to

become successful. People come to America because this is the land where dreams

become reality, if and only if you work hard to reach that dream. It is a shame when after becoming successful by working hard towards your dream, somebody takes it from you

by taking advantage of loopholes in the judicial system. The law was supposed to be

designed to protect all individuals, does it?

Roberto Hernandez

American Apparel Employee

Documents

Statement of Defense for American Apparel