‘We’re past crying. We’re angry.’ SC Starbucks workers speak out after kidnapping, assault claim

It was a Clemson football home game Saturday. Fans were pulling off Interstate 85 and into the Starbucks at Clemson Boulevard, dozens and dozens of drivers queuing up like they were early for elementary school pickup.

People spilled into the cafe and more ordered from their phones. The PA system on the drive-through went out, causing even more people to go inside.

The manager, who wasn’t there, didn’t realize it was a home game and didn’t have enough staff scheduled.

“Customers were cussing us out,” said Natalie Mann, a shift supervisor.

It was one of the worst days of her three years with Starbucks, she said, but every day is stressful, especially during COVID, which most of the staff caught.

Now, she and her colleagues think it’s time for Starbucks to show appreciation. They joined a union, just like dozens of stores around the nation, to fight for better working conditions — more pay, return to full-time hours and repaired and upgraded equipment.

But there is a difference at this little coffee shop in Anderson, South Carolina.

A new manager has accused 11 of her employees of kidnapping and assaulting her during a labor tactic called March on the Boss Aug. 1. The employees — Starbucks called them partners — gathered close to a table where manager Melissa Morris sat and expressed their demands.

Morris walked out, edging between the line of workers and tables in the dining room, bumping into one man who did not move.

At one point, she asks, “Will you let me leave the building,” and someone responds, “yes.” according to an audiotape posted on Twitter.

The workers decided to take the action just that morning after they learned that non-unionized stores would raise barista’s hourly pay from $12 to $15, effective that day, but unionized stores would not see the raise until Aug. 30. Shift supervisors like Mann would go from $15 to $20 or $21 per hour depending on length of service.

Also of concern is that their hours have been cut, without explanation. If hours dip below an average of 20, the employee will lose benefits such as free health insurance and online education from Arizona State University.

“I don’t expect to get rich working at Starbucks, but I don’t want to worry about eating or having a roof over my head,” Mann said.

For the first time since she moved out on her own, the 27-year-old had to ask her parents for money to pay her rent.

Mya Ourada, a barista, said one week she was given 9 hours.

She said the store reopened Wednesday after being closed since the union action. The people involved in March on the Boss are on paid time off as they wait to see the outcome of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office investigation into Morris’ allegations.

The other half of the staff is working.

Ourada, 17, hopes to go to medical school after getting a nursing degree at Clemson. She’s worked other restaurant jobs, but loves working at Starbucks. It was a dream to get a job there.

“Our customers are the sweetest people,” she said. “The partners are sweet and thoughtful.”

She is concerned, though, that the company sets standards for service yet doesn’t give employees the tools to meet them.

The workers have picketed outside the store twice since voting unanimously to join the union earlier this year. They’ve been met with angry customers, including one who spewed diesel fumes on them. The workers called law enforcement, who said they should not stand close to the road, Ourada said, noting one time he did that as he was driving through the parking lot.

Others have expressed support, including donating to a gofundme effort.

After the Aug. 1 March on the Boss, both women said their desire to see the union effort succeed has only grown.

“We’re past crying,” Ourada said. “We’re angry and want to fight this.”

The company, meanwhile, has not spoken about the Anderson situation since its first statement that said, “We fully respect our partners’ right to organize but no one, regardless of their interest in a union, is exempt from the standards we have always held – that everyone in our stores can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and work in a warm, welcoming, inclusive environment.”

This story was originally published August 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.