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Fired by Starbucks, Union Organizer Now Wears His Fursuit to Rallies

Nomad4Ever

Dark Brandon Acolyte
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Starbucks fired Vestigo from the Starbucks store in Overland Park, Kansas, on April 1—a week after he and his co-workers staged a walkout to protest unsafe working conditions and retaliation from management against their unionization efforts. That morning, his manager pulled him aside and fired him effective immediately for “displaying violent and threatening behavior,” he told me.

“I'm not that kind of person at all,” Vestigo said. He has social anxiety, and in a job review meeting, he cited “trouble standing up for myself” as a weakness. “It's my personal belief that they took that and they basically targeted me because they thought I would just kind of take it lying down,” he said. “It gave me more confidence than I've ever had in my entire life,” said former Overland Park Starbucks employee Michael Vestigo.

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In videos from the Seattle rally in mid April, where hundreds of people came out to support Starbucks workers’ national unionization movement, Vestigo addresses a crowd as Apollo, his Arctic wolf fursona. “Tell me: Does this look violent and threatening?” he exclaims in one video, stretching his fursuitted arms wide.



Aside from his own part in the day, Vestigo said he hoped going as Apollo would represent the diversity of the movement. “I think one of the things that makes a movement so beautiful is the fact that we can all be united despite our differences,” he said. “I think it's very important to acknowledge that we are very different people. But we are part of the same machine, and we deserve to be treated with respect no matter who we are.”


Good for him! I think it is amazing to see stuff like this happening. If nothing else it definitely helps draw attention to an important issue. I hope he gets his job back. I'm glad his situation has helped him overcome his anxiety and gain confidence.
 
None of that has anything to do with anyone being capable of behaving in a violent and threatening manner. It's all bs defense. A real defense would cite the incident in question and give his side of the story. Never mentioning what they were talking about, specifically, and going directly to "don't I look peaceful" is a big red flag.

I have no idea if the person is wearing the suit like a mascot or because they wanna or because they are a "furry", but I'm not buying the "I got banned for nothing" routine. I never buy the "I got banned for nothing" routine. Nor do I buy the "I got locked up for nothing" routine.
 
A real defense would cite the incident in question and give his side of the story.
He's speaking at a union rally, not defending himself in court.

I have no idea if the person is wearing the suit like a mascot or because they wanna or because they are a "furry"
It's because they are a furry.
 
I skimmed over the article and maybe I missed it but was there any description of the alleged incident that lead to his job loose. Being a shy person doesn’t mean you can’t have an outburst, especially if you are under an increased amount of stressful
 
He's speaking at a union rally, not defending himself in court.


It's because they are a furry.

They're defending themself from accusations of violent and threatening behavior with "but don't I look peaceful". That is a huge red flag. That's basically guilty. I don't care where or to whom they are defending themself, "look over there" is basically a guilty plea.

If the incident is bs, I want to know what event they are referring to, how Starbucks characterizes it and how they characterize it.

I don't see how being a Furry is relevant but the article leaving that unclear was odd. Thanks for the clarification.
 
With unions becoming such a big thing again, we need to bring back shrill union anthems.

C'mon folks! Let's sing! ♪ Oh just look for....the Union label.♪
 
With unions becoming such a big thing again, we need to bring back shrill union anthems.

C'mon folks! Let's sing! ♪ Oh just look for....the Union label.♪
I could get behind some catchy old timey sounding union songs.
 
I could get behind some catchy old timey sounding union songs.
In our last contract negotiations they had some catchy chants a few folks dressed up and a lot of noise was made. But in the end the union folded to the second offer that was worse than the first and tries to convince everyone they did a good job. Songs and chants don’t make up for poor leadership.
 
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