Stockton Boys And Girls Club Employees Refusing To Sign Resignation Letters To Receive Pay

STOCKTON (CBS13) - The Stockton Boys & Girls Club employees are refusing to sign a letter of resignation to collect their pay because, they say, they are being laid off.

Employees of the now-defunct club say they were never told by management that the club had lost its charter. When they went to pick up their paychecks last Friday, they say they were told to sign a resignation letter or they couldn't get their money.

"The word that popped was 'resign,' " said an employee who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. "If you want your check, you need to sign this letter."

The employee says she and some of her other coworkers refused to sign.

"To me, it's quitting. I did not quit," she said. "That's money we earned. It's money that belongs to us."

About 80 employees who worked at the club are facing an uncertain future after the national organization pulled the Stockton chapter's charter.

"I think it's a terrible tragedy it's come to this," board member Terry Hull said.

In a CBS13 report last month, Hull said he was so frustrated that he planned to resign.

The club lost $780,000 a year from the Stockton Unified School District when it became unaffiliated. The club was formerly run by Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva. The national organization wouldn't say why they stripped Stockton of the charter.

Now, with the Stockton club closing, its new CEO Brenda Jones told CBS13 that it's policy to have employees sign the resignation letter. But, not all employees have agreed.

"If I say I quit the Boys & Girls Club, and then I try and get unemployment, they're not going to let me," the employee said.

It's another mess for a club closing, but not without controversy.

The club CEO says it will open Monday but will no longer be called the Boys & Girls Club. When asked from where the money to pay employees was coming, the club couldn't say, yet.

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