Despite the company’s efforts, several Starbucks locations have recently voted to unionize. Those in favor of the unions claim they are seeking higher pay, better hours, and increased worker protections, among other things.
As news of these unionizations spreads through the media, ex-employees are chiming in on social media to share their Starbucks stories.
Posting on TikTok under the hashtag #union, an alleged former Starbucks employee is now claiming they lost their job after reporting workplace discrimination. After losing their job, they say they are now unhoused.
“Faces discrimination then reports to [store manager] and ethics and compliance,” user Iris (@sailorzooted) wrote in the text overlay of their video. This act led to them “get[ting] hours cut to 5/wk and fired by [store manager].”
In the description, Iris added, “I’ve been homeless and out a job since February and have received ZERO HELP!”
Iris’ video was posted on Wednesday and has been viewed 5,000 times.
In comments, many claimed that, if Iris’ story is true, they have a wrongful termination lawsuit on their hands.
“Press charges,” one user urged.
“Depending on where you live, most work places cannot retaliate and you can sue for them firing you for speaking up,” another claimed.
However, Iris is located in Texas. Texas is an “at-will” employment state, which means that an “employee may be terminated for any reason or for no reason at all, as long as the reason is not illegal or unlawful,” according to LegalMatch.
While this firing someone for reporting discrimination may count as an “illegal or unlawful” reason, in practice, “proving wrongful termination may be difficult,” LegalMatch reported.
Many commenters were unsurprised by Iris’ video.
“Lmao I knew it was Starbucks right away,” one user stated. “Why they like this… they wanna keep the shitty [people]?”
“It’s always starbucks,” another said.
Iris did not immediately respond to Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment and Instagram direct message. Starbucks did not immediately respond to Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
Source: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/starbucks-allegedly-fired-after-reporting-discrimination/