Hi, my name is Makaya Davis. I am 19 years old and I live in a small town named Hanford, California. I moved on my own to Hanford in November of 2018. I was a Starbucks barista for about a year and five months. When I was offered the job at Starbucks, I was so ecstatic and couldn’t wait to start. Starbucks is known for its inclusiveness to the LGBTQIA+ community and, recently, a strong ally for the Black Lives Matter movement. Being a member of both, I was excited to enter a safe space and meet new people in a new town. Being a barista is a very difficult, fast-paced job. I am a very fast learner and quickly moved up to our bar position, where we make all the drinks. Bar is a position you have to work towards, and getting there within your first three months usually never happens. I worked very hard to get to bar. I would work 6, even 7 days a week so I could get comfortable on bar and improve my skills. I had occasional issues with two of my shift supervisors. There would be days where I would be belittled, demeaned, watched and harassed by those two shifts to see how much I could handle. When I tried to become a barista trainer, it all got much worse. Their excuse being, “well, if you want to be a trainer, you’re going to have to deal with it.”  
I was written up twice for cash register shortages. The first write-up, on October 29, 2019 was because my cash drawer was 25$ OVER the amount it was supposed to be. Even though it didn’t make sense to me at the time, I signed the written warning and went back to work. Soon after, on November 22, 2019, I received my second write-up. This write-up stated that my register was short just the day before. I explained to my store manager that I was mainly on bar that day, making drinks. I only went over to drive-thru for a total of 20 minutes, to cover two of my coworkers’ 10-minute breaks. During that time, I had only taken cash payments maybe once or twice. Most people paid with their credit cards or Starbucks cards. The main person who was on drive-thru that night, who no longer works for the company, had a history of problems with our cash registers. He would constantly get confused with change, refunds, special offers, etc. At most Starbucks locations, and especially at our store, the same cash register is used all day. It is counted once in the morning and once at night. There is no concrete way of knowing who was on the register when the money went missing. Since they needed someone to blame, and I already had a previous write-up, I was forced to sign the final written warning. From that point forward, I nearly refused to be on drive-thru. I wanted to avoid any further misunderstandings. I have been on my own and providing for myself for a few years. I needed this job and I was getting a lot of hours on the schedule. I had to move around a lot and never had a stable living environment; I didn’t want my work environment to be unstable too. 

Around late April-early May 2020, our team welcomed a new partner. He was a transfer from another district, and I was excited to make him feel welcome in our store, especially during this global pandemic. Then, on May 31st, after working with him for a few weeks, Ian Cloyd comes in for his scheduled shift and sees me and my shift supervisor, another black woman, in the back of house. I was washing dishes while my shift supervisor was on her break. We weren't having a discussion at the time Ian walked in. He sees both of us, minding our own business, when he proceeds to ask, "oh my gosh guys. have you heard about the protests? haha crazy right?" (please keep in mind that Ian is a CAUCASIAN MALE). I decide not to engage in conversation with him, especially since I wasn't certain on his stance towards the BLM movement. My shift supervisor, however, entertained him by engaging in conversation. My supervisor gets off her break and the conversation between her and Ian is brought to the front of house. I hear that their conversation is still going after about five minutes, which is when I decided to change the conversation from today's protests, while still keeping the topic of racial discrimination. I turn towards my shift supervisor and another black coworker and ask, "when was the first time you two realized racism was a thing when you were younger?" 
All three of us go on to share our experiences with each other, while everyone else listened and educated themselves. Then, out of nowhere, Ian says, very loud, with the drive thru window open, "THEY USED TO CALL ME N***ER LIPS IN SCHOOL!"  
We all froze in shock and silence. Ian apparently thought no one heard him, so he repeated himself, this time much louder. Loud enough for my shift supervisor to hear from the bar area. She says, "what did you just say?" Ian then repeats himself. That's three times. Three times this derogatory slur was used by a Caucasian male on the Starbucks floor. The supervisor then sternly said, "do not say that on my floor, ever! that makes me extremely uncomfortable as a black woman." Not once did Ian apologize to me. Not once was any remorse ever shown for his actions on the floor that day. He simply remained quiet until he felt like it was "okay" for him to "joke around" again before the end of his shift. 
After he left, all of us, especially myself and my black coworkers, were in absolute shock, confusion, anger, and disappointment. I wanted to be the one to speak up. I had to be. I worked at this Starbucks longer than both of the other black woman who worked there. All of my coworkers agreed that this word should have never been used at work, by anyone, whatsoever. I really believed that my voice was going to be heard. I hoped that action would be taken to prove that Starbucks was actually against the fight of racial injustice. Unfortunately, I was let down. 
Ian got nothing but a mere sit-down discussion with our store manager, Kathryn McCoy. No investigation, no serious consequences whatsoever. It was simply swept under the rug. Much like all the other cases of racism, discrimination, harassment and COVID-19 safety violations that constantly occur in every Starbucks in not only California, but in the world. For example, two other stores in our town had someone test positive for COVID-19 in early July. Instead of closing the store for mandatory cleaning and disinfecting, they were open to the public with shorter operating hours. Baristas from our store and surrounding stores were scheduled to work for the people at the stores who got sick or exposed, in an infected store. Some baristas didn’t hear about the news until they were already working at the store, which caused a lot of anger and anxiety for them.  
When I talked to my store manager about it initially, a few days after the incident with Ian happened, she seemed extremely upset. She seemed determined to seek justice for me and my coworkers. She even said, “I know I don’t have the same struggles as you, but I am going to use my privilege to make sure this doesn’t get swept under the rug.” Long after her conversation with Ian about his language and behavior, I heard nothing about the situation. No updates, no requests for further information, nothing. It was like nothing happened. It took over two weeks and two shift supervisors talking to my store manager for her to touch base with me again, and she sounded completely different from the first time we talked about the situation. It seemed like an inconvenience to her. She said that Ian was going to stay as a barista no matter what, and wanted to find ways for me to "DEAL WITH IT." She suggested that a tiny sit-down discussion would make me get over his derogatory remarks. I told her that one discussion was not going to fix the problem and that I felt extremely uncomfortable working with him. I even opened up to her about how it was hard for me to sleep at night knowing that I had to wake up in the morning and work alongside him. She got defensive when I told her that, from my perspective, it seemed like nothing was done about the situation. She snapped and told me to try and "come up" with anything else Ian had done in the past week to warrant any disciplinary action. As if saying a derogatory slur three times wasn’t enough. The conversation concluded with her apologizing for sweeping this issue under the rug and admitting that she didn’t do enough. She said, after working for Starbucks for 16 years, that this was her “first time” dealing with someone saying a derogatory slur and thought her and the district manager could handle it on their own. My heart fell into my stomach. After over a year of being completely devoted to Starbucks, my voice felt completely unheard.  
On July 18th, I had to work with Ian. I was cleaning our bar area during a huge midday rush. I went to grab our syrups when one of them fell on the floor due to the pump not being completely screwed on. Syrup spills everywhere. I am in the back getting the mop when, out of frustration about the syrup, I yell "f*ck". Most of my coworkers either didn't hear me or didn't care, but Ian did. 
Ian wanted retaliation for my report about his use of derogatory slurs on the job. In order to "get back" at me, he reported me for my use of a curse word, in the back of the store. Starbucks believed that the f-word was a more fire-able offense than the use of a derogatory slur. This was the grounds for termination from my employment at Starbucks Corporation. 
To my knowledge, the store manager who fired me, Kathryn McCoy, and her district manager, Donald Wallis, never contacted HR about the situation regarding my racist coworker. They insisted the problem could be solved by the two of them alone. I always respected Donald and Kathryn and trusted their word, up until this point. 
I am creating this petition to put an end to the racism, discrimination, harassment and mistreatment that affects Starbucks’ from all across America. Back in 2018, Starbucks closed 8,000+ stores for sensitivity training regarding racial bias. It's time for a refresher course. Silence is deadly, and I will not hold my tongue for this company any longer. I am usually one who doesn’t like conflict or asking for help, but in a time like this, I need all the love and support I can get.  
Until Ian is terminated and the management team is held responsible and reprimanded, Starbucks should not be known as a “third-place.” A Starbucks that allows racism is not inclusive. A corporation that supports derogatory remarks is not a place to spend your hard-earned money.  
SIGN THIS PETITION AND HELP ME CONTACT HR TO TAKE ACTION AND SPREAD THE WORD THAT STARBUCKS IS NOT THE ALLY THEY CLAIM TO BE!!!! 
HUMAN RESOURCES:  
Legal or Ethics (24/7): (800) 611-7792 
 https://businessconduct.eawebline.com        
Starbucks Store #5873 on 550 W Lacey Blvd in Hanford, CA  
 Store Manager: Kathryn McCoy  
District Manager: Donald Wallis  
Regional Director Manager: Gina Hurstak