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South Carolina Starbucks workers who were accused of “kidnapping” their boss during a protest have filed a lawsuit accusing the coffee giant of “defamation.” The unionized workers, part of a widespread effort to organize Starbucks stores, say the company “improperly weaponize[d] the legal process” by “falsely accusing them of crimes and seeking to have them arrested.”
The suit, filed on behalf of eight workers at a Starbucks in Anderson, South Carolina, concerns an incident from Aug 1. That day, workers at the store performed a “march on the boss,” a federally protected action in which workers present their boss with a series of demands related to working conditions.
“We are not going to move until some action is taken for our raise. No work is being done on the floor, and no customers are being served,” one worker told the store’s manager, Melissa Morris, in audio published by More Perfect Union on Twitter. Video of the incident was also released by the union, Starbucks Workers United.