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In November, a front-of-house employee at Amelie’s NoDa was fired for attempting to bring attention to their miserable wages. Amelie’s employees only make $9 to $10 per hour, while their CEO lives in a house in South Park valued over $2 million. Merely bringing attention to this was enough for the company to terminate the employee.

Last month, in frustration with the terrible working conditions, an employee at Amelie’s NoDa added “pays starvation wages” under the words Amelie’s on a to-go menu in marker. Customers saw the writing and commented to a manager who happened to be working at the register; although it hasn’t been confirmed what the customers said.

The general manager of the location informed the employee that this message “encouraged customers not to continue to patronize the store.” This is an admission of guilt: the company knows that customers would be turned off if it was discovered just how exploitative their business practices are. Amelie’s barely pays above the minimum wage: several current and former employees from the NoDa store have reported wages of just $9 and $10 per hour. Current workers have also reported a culture of favoritism, racism, and transphobia in the promotion process. In 2020, over 40 former employees organized a boycott due to the extent of the abuse and racism at the NoDa location.

Much of Amelie’s workforce comes from some of the most exploited sections of the working class: students and the formerly incarcerated who, due to a lack of opportunities, are forced to put up with miserable conditions and wages barely above the state minimum.

Amelie’s makes millions of dollars a year off the backs of its workforce’s labor. Any attempt by Amelie’s employees to speak out against their exploitation or organize for better conditions and wages threatens the company’s profits. Under capitalism, a business protecting and increasing its profit knows no limits. It will do whatever it takes, including bullying, intimidating, and firing employees. The only way to fight against this is by building independent workplace organizations that can protect workers by striking back at any attempt by the company to stop their organizing with collective action. Organization and collective action are the strongest tools in the hands of workers because any work stoppage will hit the company where it matters to them most: their pockets.