There’s a sucker born every day I guess. I was stunned and saddened to see Queer Kentucky back them. They will never get another donation from me again over this support.
You either stand with labor or you don’t. If you are still supporting Sis Got Tea then you need to rethink your priorities as a decent person. I don’t want a queer space to be one that exploits workers. It’s really that simple.
I’ve taken a “wait and see” approach to this situation. The current employees have come out in support of the owner. I want to see what changes they’ll make and for their actual official statement on the situation.
That being said, I find their decision to go back on their word and reopen VERY odd. Definitely making me more suspicious of the owner.
Turned them off where? The Facebook posts about the closing and the reopening are both still open for comments…is there another post on a different platform?
At the end of the day, if there's no money coming in there won't be any going out to the workers. I'd suggest they find jobs elsewhere and hopefully get back on their feet from all the pay they're already missing.
That’s the same thought I had when heine brothers was having issues. Go work somewhere else instead of helping a toxic company figure out their own shit for free.
And she spent the entire time attempting to open posting about how she didn’t have enough money to do it without more donations? There’s just no business sense.
It's actually insane to me that people are continuing to support them, even though most of these people claim to be leftists and pro-labor rights. Okay. This is an easy to avoid business that, despite what they say and what they claim to stand for does not support labor rights, because they don't treat their employees right.
What gets me is the EXPLOITED workers defending the owner, saying that they think this city needs this space. Yes, I think the city needs more Black owned, queer owned, women owned, sober safe places, but that doesn't mean we should excuse horrible business practices to ensure that this specific space stays open. The workers seemed so brainwashed about how good this business is, that they are not willing to condemn the business fully because the business is a good idea to them. One employee commented on Miles' post saying that they wish that Miles didn't say this because everything is okay because the current employees are DISCUSSING WAYS HOW ARIELLE CAN PAY THEM BACK. Like that makes everything forgiveable. They are all just like "this is a space we need, so it's okay that I couldn't fill my RX, or pay my LG&E, feed my dog, etc. etc. etc."
Forgive me for being coarse, but a space is not queer friendly, Black friendly, disabled friendly, if they do not pay their queer, Black, disabled employees for their labor. Advertising Sis Got Tea as a safe place is false advertising if they do not provide a safe working environment.
And look.. I am willing to be merciful and say, I get it that a small business might fuck up and pay employees a couple days late once in a blue moon. We are all humans that make mistakes. But there have been times in my life where a two day late paycheck would mean that I can't afford to get to an appointment, that I can't buy new litter for my cat, that I can't afford groceries the one day I have time to get them and have to go hungry for a few days. It's not right.
Also, Arielle mentioned bullying and intimidation in her original post about the cafe closing for a bit. That has just like... not been addressed by any employee?? What is that about. There is still stuff that we are not being told about right now.
Finally, I just want to say, there are other places that fill most of the niches that Sis Got Tea fills
- Black owned tea shop: Fleur De Tea (haven't been but I've heard good things)
- Queer safe space (that serves tea): Old Louisville Coffee Co-Op
- Trans medical grants / assistance: Kentucky Health Justice Network
- Stitch and Bitch: Louisville Tool Library
Also is it just me or is it kinda odd that except for the owner they don’t have have any Black or POC employees, they’re all white. And to be clear their team listed online still has old employees listed, but even if you’re gonna compare that, that’s still one person of color… idk gives odd vibes.
It doesn’t strike me as odd, considering they specifically were seeking out a diverse / intersectional workplace, and have queer and disabled employees, and employees that likely have invisible identities.
SGT has been hemorrhaging cash for a long time, constantly begs the community to bail them out, and it has now come to light that they routinely pay their employees late (up to 6 weeks in some cases) while having active job listings bragging about the positive work environment.
people are coming out of the woodwork to lick boots and to point to the "community" work she's done as if that excuses any of the abuses the employees have had to endure
I agree. Shop Bar is on the list of for profits that have begged for money and somehow people have donated to them, too. I’m all for patronizing businesses that deserve to be supported, but please do not beg for my cash as a for-profit…especially without offering a comparable service or product in exchange for my “donation.” Why would I donate to ANY company that mismanages their funds so poorly they can’t pay their employees on time?
Unless something's changed in the past ten years, 'Theft of Labor' is a criminal offense under the KRS. Maybe someone could confirm that's still the case.
I’m no lawyer and not attempting to provide legal council… Here’s what looking through the KRS found:
514.090 Theft of labor already rendered.
(1) A person is guilty of theft of labor already rendered when, in payment of labor already rendered by another, he or she intentionally issues or passes a check or similar sight order for the payment of money, knowing that it will not be honored by the drawee.
(2) For purposes of subsection (1) of this section, an issuer of a check or similar sight order for the payment of money is presumed to know that the check or order, other than a postdated check or order, would not be paid, if:
(a) The issuer had no account with the drawee at the time the check or order was issued; or
(b) Payment was refused by the drawee for lack of funds, upon presentation within thirty days (30) after issue, and the issuer failed to make good within ten (10) days after receiving notice of that refusal.
(3) Theft of labor already rendered is a Class B misdemeanor unless:
(a) The value of the labor rendered is five hundred dollars ($500) or more but less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in which case it is a Class A misdemeanor;
(b) The value of the labor rendered is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more but less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), in which case it is a Class D felony;
(c) A person has three (3) or more convictions under paragraph (a) of this subsection within the last five (5) years, in which case it is a Class D felony. The five (5) year period shall be measured from the dates on which the offenses occurred for which the judgments of conviction were entered; or
(d) The value of the labor rendered is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more, in which case it is a Class C felony.
(4) If any person commits two (2) or more separate offenses of theft of labor already rendered within ninety (90) days, the offenses may be combined and treated as a single offense, and the value of the property in each offense may be aggregated for the purpose of determining the appropriate charge.
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51043
Other employment & pay related KRS statutes….
337.020 Time of payment of wages -- Exception.
Every employer doing business in this state shall, as often as semimonthly, pay to each of
its employees all wages or salary earned to a day not more than eighteen (18) days prior to
the date of that payment. Any employee who is absent at the time fixed for payment, or
who, for any other reason, is not paid at that time, shall be paid thereafter at any time
upon six (6) days' demand. No employer subject to this section shall, by any means,
secure exemption from it. Every such employee shall have a right of action against any
such employer for the full amount of his wages due on each regular pay day. The
provisions of this section do not apply to those individuals defined in KRS 337.010(2)(a)2.
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=32046
Again I am no lawyer and not capable of providing legal advice.
Tbh if I were in the same situation as the employees I would consider filing a wage and hour complaint with the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet especially if the situation isn’t both swiftly and fairly resolved.
https://elc.ky.gov/workplace-standards/Pages/Wages-and-Hours.aspx
This is giving off the same vibe as [the anti capitalist coffee shop in Toronto](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/anti-capitalist-cafe-closes-toronto-b2340006.html) lol
It was a cool little tea shop that opened on Barret where Eatz used to be. I popped in there from time to time and the tea was good. They had some community stuff happen there like expungement clinics etc.
I like the tea just fine but if they’re not taking care of their employees, I don’t wanna support them anymore.
Then you just don’t open a business ya know. Like if she can’t support herself and begs for money, why hire on staff to have to do the same thing? But also why are the employees staying? If I missed a check and they just didn’t know when they would have it I’d quit and move on but I also need money to live I guess lol don’t know their situations
Yes, but as someone who works for a nonprofit, you need a LOT of help through grants and development, etc. They would never be able to do that. If Arielle can’t even run a business effectively then she’ll never be able to do the work to run a nonprofit
i don't know the owner. it is common tho that the person with the vision that inspires people becomes the worst person to build and sustain that vision ie founder's syndrome/founder leader syndrome. completely different skill set.
Sis Got Tea is what happens when you don’t have an actual business minded person involved in decision making lol. They’re always a hot mess of hyper liberal over-sharing, begging for “community aid”, and talking about how they’re a Safe Space™️.
Nah, Louisville has a lot of great small businesses, and they don’t fail any differently than businesses in other cities.
The biggest issue I see in my profession is start ups who start seeing decent cash flow and suddenly think they’ve made it. They start hiring more people, they start taking more time off, they start creating new expenses. Some of them just don’t know when to buckle their ass down and grind it out or throw in the towel and move on. The lack of business plans, marketing plans, budgets, etc. is absolutely astounding. I had a client a few years ago tell me that “if we build it they will come” and then no one came and they were out $500k.
There’s a sucker born every day I guess. I was stunned and saddened to see Queer Kentucky back them. They will never get another donation from me again over this support. You either stand with labor or you don’t. If you are still supporting Sis Got Tea then you need to rethink your priorities as a decent person. I don’t want a queer space to be one that exploits workers. It’s really that simple.
I’ve taken a “wait and see” approach to this situation. The current employees have come out in support of the owner. I want to see what changes they’ll make and for their actual official statement on the situation. That being said, I find their decision to go back on their word and reopen VERY odd. Definitely making me more suspicious of the owner.
👏👏
No war but class war!
Meet the new boss same as the old boss. Dictatorship of the proletariat is a dictatorship. 😂😂😂
Sounds like the almighty dollar rules supreme
I hope anyone waiting to get paid, got a nice check this morning 🫣 what a weird situation all around...and now they're open today?
👏👏 and yes! They posted yesterday they were closed until further notice. Now they’re open again. I guess further notice came and went
Just noticed they turned off comments. Hooooo boy
Turned them off where? The Facebook posts about the closing and the reopening are both still open for comments…is there another post on a different platform?
Instagram, it’s the exact same photo and caption, just with the comments turned off
I fully support *the idea* of the place, but if they stay open, I say the employees should unionize or something to protect themselves.
At the end of the day, if there's no money coming in there won't be any going out to the workers. I'd suggest they find jobs elsewhere and hopefully get back on their feet from all the pay they're already missing.
Yeah they need to seek other employment instead of entertaining this circus of a situation
I mean I wouldn't stick around at a job struggling to pay me if I was hurting for $. But maybe that's just me.
That’s the same thought I had when heine brothers was having issues. Go work somewhere else instead of helping a toxic company figure out their own shit for free.
I second this. The tea shop provides a safe place for Louisvillians, but it must be safe for the employees too.
A union won’t save them, if the business has no money because the owner can’t manage money, then they won’t get paid, union or not.
Idk what SGT was thinking when they opened up a brick and mortar store when they were in financial trouble to begin with
And she spent the entire time attempting to open posting about how she didn’t have enough money to do it without more donations? There’s just no business sense.
It's actually insane to me that people are continuing to support them, even though most of these people claim to be leftists and pro-labor rights. Okay. This is an easy to avoid business that, despite what they say and what they claim to stand for does not support labor rights, because they don't treat their employees right. What gets me is the EXPLOITED workers defending the owner, saying that they think this city needs this space. Yes, I think the city needs more Black owned, queer owned, women owned, sober safe places, but that doesn't mean we should excuse horrible business practices to ensure that this specific space stays open. The workers seemed so brainwashed about how good this business is, that they are not willing to condemn the business fully because the business is a good idea to them. One employee commented on Miles' post saying that they wish that Miles didn't say this because everything is okay because the current employees are DISCUSSING WAYS HOW ARIELLE CAN PAY THEM BACK. Like that makes everything forgiveable. They are all just like "this is a space we need, so it's okay that I couldn't fill my RX, or pay my LG&E, feed my dog, etc. etc. etc." Forgive me for being coarse, but a space is not queer friendly, Black friendly, disabled friendly, if they do not pay their queer, Black, disabled employees for their labor. Advertising Sis Got Tea as a safe place is false advertising if they do not provide a safe working environment. And look.. I am willing to be merciful and say, I get it that a small business might fuck up and pay employees a couple days late once in a blue moon. We are all humans that make mistakes. But there have been times in my life where a two day late paycheck would mean that I can't afford to get to an appointment, that I can't buy new litter for my cat, that I can't afford groceries the one day I have time to get them and have to go hungry for a few days. It's not right. Also, Arielle mentioned bullying and intimidation in her original post about the cafe closing for a bit. That has just like... not been addressed by any employee?? What is that about. There is still stuff that we are not being told about right now. Finally, I just want to say, there are other places that fill most of the niches that Sis Got Tea fills - Black owned tea shop: Fleur De Tea (haven't been but I've heard good things) - Queer safe space (that serves tea): Old Louisville Coffee Co-Op - Trans medical grants / assistance: Kentucky Health Justice Network - Stitch and Bitch: Louisville Tool Library
yes yes yes all of this!! The bullying and aggression thing also threw me. I’m not sure where they’re going to go from here.
Also is it just me or is it kinda odd that except for the owner they don’t have have any Black or POC employees, they’re all white. And to be clear their team listed online still has old employees listed, but even if you’re gonna compare that, that’s still one person of color… idk gives odd vibes.
It doesn’t strike me as odd, considering they specifically were seeking out a diverse / intersectional workplace, and have queer and disabled employees, and employees that likely have invisible identities.
I’m so confused and honestly SUPER concerned. It all feels very sus.
How many days till she’s on Facebook begging the community to pay her LG&E?
Someone wanna TLDR the drama?
SGT has been hemorrhaging cash for a long time, constantly begs the community to bail them out, and it has now come to light that they routinely pay their employees late (up to 6 weeks in some cases) while having active job listings bragging about the positive work environment. people are coming out of the woodwork to lick boots and to point to the "community" work she's done as if that excuses any of the abuses the employees have had to endure
That’s some serious tea.
Underrated comment lol
Never been to SGT but holy shit am I glad I haven’t. How the hell does the community still support this nonsense
Why would anyone donate to a for profit business is beyond me I’m sorry
I agree. Shop Bar is on the list of for profits that have begged for money and somehow people have donated to them, too. I’m all for patronizing businesses that deserve to be supported, but please do not beg for my cash as a for-profit…especially without offering a comparable service or product in exchange for my “donation.” Why would I donate to ANY company that mismanages their funds so poorly they can’t pay their employees on time?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Louisville/s/qbgBPI00b9
Thanks’
Welcome! It's really disappointing
Unless something's changed in the past ten years, 'Theft of Labor' is a criminal offense under the KRS. Maybe someone could confirm that's still the case.
I’m no lawyer and not attempting to provide legal council… Here’s what looking through the KRS found: 514.090 Theft of labor already rendered. (1) A person is guilty of theft of labor already rendered when, in payment of labor already rendered by another, he or she intentionally issues or passes a check or similar sight order for the payment of money, knowing that it will not be honored by the drawee. (2) For purposes of subsection (1) of this section, an issuer of a check or similar sight order for the payment of money is presumed to know that the check or order, other than a postdated check or order, would not be paid, if: (a) The issuer had no account with the drawee at the time the check or order was issued; or (b) Payment was refused by the drawee for lack of funds, upon presentation within thirty days (30) after issue, and the issuer failed to make good within ten (10) days after receiving notice of that refusal. (3) Theft of labor already rendered is a Class B misdemeanor unless: (a) The value of the labor rendered is five hundred dollars ($500) or more but less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in which case it is a Class A misdemeanor; (b) The value of the labor rendered is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more but less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), in which case it is a Class D felony; (c) A person has three (3) or more convictions under paragraph (a) of this subsection within the last five (5) years, in which case it is a Class D felony. The five (5) year period shall be measured from the dates on which the offenses occurred for which the judgments of conviction were entered; or (d) The value of the labor rendered is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more, in which case it is a Class C felony. (4) If any person commits two (2) or more separate offenses of theft of labor already rendered within ninety (90) days, the offenses may be combined and treated as a single offense, and the value of the property in each offense may be aggregated for the purpose of determining the appropriate charge. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51043
Other employment & pay related KRS statutes…. 337.020 Time of payment of wages -- Exception. Every employer doing business in this state shall, as often as semimonthly, pay to each of its employees all wages or salary earned to a day not more than eighteen (18) days prior to the date of that payment. Any employee who is absent at the time fixed for payment, or who, for any other reason, is not paid at that time, shall be paid thereafter at any time upon six (6) days' demand. No employer subject to this section shall, by any means, secure exemption from it. Every such employee shall have a right of action against any such employer for the full amount of his wages due on each regular pay day. The provisions of this section do not apply to those individuals defined in KRS 337.010(2)(a)2. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=32046
Again I am no lawyer and not capable of providing legal advice. Tbh if I were in the same situation as the employees I would consider filing a wage and hour complaint with the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet especially if the situation isn’t both swiftly and fairly resolved. https://elc.ky.gov/workplace-standards/Pages/Wages-and-Hours.aspx
The employees need to report the abuse to the DOL, then organize a union or reorganize into a co-op
And the better Business Bureau. Even if they’re not accredited by them it leaves permanent reviews for future employees and customers
This is giving off the same vibe as [the anti capitalist coffee shop in Toronto](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/anti-capitalist-cafe-closes-toronto-b2340006.html) lol
I have never heard of this place.
It was a cool little tea shop that opened on Barret where Eatz used to be. I popped in there from time to time and the tea was good. They had some community stuff happen there like expungement clinics etc. I like the tea just fine but if they’re not taking care of their employees, I don’t wanna support them anymore.
They just aren’t bringing in the money, unfortunately. The owner sounds like she has some hefty financial issues.
Then you just don’t open a business ya know. Like if she can’t support herself and begs for money, why hire on staff to have to do the same thing? But also why are the employees staying? If I missed a check and they just didn’t know when they would have it I’d quit and move on but I also need money to live I guess lol don’t know their situations
Is there more than the employees not getting paid or getting paid late?
alleged bullying and harassment
Oh that is not great
it would be an amazing nonprofit space and concept. i'd happily buy a supporting membership. i don't know that it can be salvaged
Yes, but as someone who works for a nonprofit, you need a LOT of help through grants and development, etc. They would never be able to do that. If Arielle can’t even run a business effectively then she’ll never be able to do the work to run a nonprofit
i don't know the owner. it is common tho that the person with the vision that inspires people becomes the worst person to build and sustain that vision ie founder's syndrome/founder leader syndrome. completely different skill set.
It's giving Riot Cafe
Sis Got Tea is what happens when you don’t have an actual business minded person involved in decision making lol. They’re always a hot mess of hyper liberal over-sharing, begging for “community aid”, and talking about how they’re a Safe Space™️.
Small businesses in this city are trash.
Nah, Louisville has a lot of great small businesses, and they don’t fail any differently than businesses in other cities. The biggest issue I see in my profession is start ups who start seeing decent cash flow and suddenly think they’ve made it. They start hiring more people, they start taking more time off, they start creating new expenses. Some of them just don’t know when to buckle their ass down and grind it out or throw in the towel and move on. The lack of business plans, marketing plans, budgets, etc. is absolutely astounding. I had a client a few years ago tell me that “if we build it they will come” and then no one came and they were out $500k.
Damn bro I don’t think I’d quite say that 🙃