Acme Food & Beverage Company in Carrboro and the employees who participated in a two-month strike have gone separate ways, with strike organizers saying their efforts are now focused on helping more service industry workers.
On February 17, the Instagram account for “Acme on Strike” shared those who were striking planned to end their demonstration and not return to the restaurant, which is located on East Main Street. Leadership for the protest said the group ultimately felt “uncomfortable” by the efforts made by Acme and chef and owner Kevin Callaghan to meet their demands. A law firm representing Acme said negotiations between the restaurant and employees were coming to a close because “nearly all of their demands” had been met.
During a closing rally on Sunday, however, strike organizer and former Acme server Madison Burns told Chapelboro that the striking employees did not feel that way. She said Callaghan, who some strikers alleged sexually harassed employees and maintained unfair labor practices, failed to deliver a sincere apology to workers who were hurt by his actions.
Acme shared a statement on its social media and website on Friday, February 25, titled “A Note From Kevin.” Callaghan said an investigation sparked by the employees’ complaints in November resulted in “nothing that would constitute a legal claim for sexual harassment or misconduct” against him.
Burns said during negotiations, the strike organizers saw the draft of that note and believe it fell short of being genuinely concerned about the workers’ well-being.
“It was just a slap in the face with everyone that had been working with them,” said Burns. “We’d been so professional and civil the whole time [during negotiations.] Once everyone read that, we were like, ‘This really sucks, this makes us really angry.’ Nobody wanted to go back to work, so [Callaghan] ended the strike himself, basically, by giving us such a [poor] apology.”
Burns said she wishes Callaghan and Acme would publicly release the impartial investigation referenced in his statement. She also said while former employees feel a sense of accomplishment that future employees will have a better structure to protect from potential harassment, there is still a level of disappointment from the group.
“I don’t think I have any regrets on how this went down,” said Burns. “It definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth, not having things end amicably, but I don’t really care. Obviously, we did make them make concessions. They put in the bare minimum, but they now have adequate anti-harassment and anti-bullying policies.”
In the statement shared on Acme’s website, Callaghan wrote to readers that he believes the changes are proper “corrective action.”
“As an employer I feel responsible for ensuring a work environment where people feel comfortable and safe,” the restaurant owner said. “I recognize that by falling short of those responsibilities, I have not only let my employees down, but I have let you down as well. This has been a significant learning experience for me. I appreciate the opportunity this has given me to reflect internally and grow as a person and employer.”
While those negotiations are finished, Burns said the former Acme employees are not finished with their work to try and identify similar treatment of service workers. Some of the strikers, including Burns, plan to start a workers coalition for the local food and service industry.
“I think when we went public and there was so much support,” Burns told Chapelboro, “so much solidarity from other workers in the community that had experienced the same thing, we realized it was much bigger than just Acme. We definitely thought [about] a union, but then things went south during negotiations, so no one is going to be [at the restaurant] anymore. But we still want to positively impact the community in some way…and everyone is really excited about it.”
Sunday’s brief gathering served as a step toward the construction of that coalition. Burns, as well as Carrboro Town Council member Danny Nowell, encouraged the attendees to show up for a meeting set for March 13 to gather other local employees to hear their experiences and needs.
Nowell, who has used his local platform to bring attention to the Acme on Strike efforts, said he hopes the coalition can be a starting point to eventually reach “unionized workplaces” in Carrboro and Chapel Hill. He said the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization that endorsed Nowell for town council, will likely be involved and try to provide resources.
Nowell told Chapelboro he hopes to bridge connections between such workers since he finds that solidarity as a way to “navigate pretty tough times.”
“It’s just a simple fact of our society today,” said Nowell, “that there are people who live off of their capital or accumulated wealth and there are people who live off their labor. The straightforward way of saying that is: if you work for a living, you’re on one side of an equation in this society that we desperately need to start working together to [balance.]”
Acme Food & Beverage Company, which Callaghan has operated for more than 20 years in downtown Carrboro, has been closed to dine-in customers since the strike began in November.
Photo by Gillian Faski / The Daily Tar Heel.
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