When a Starbucks employee who happens to be a transgender man learns that he is expected to work an eight-hour shift at the coffee shop, he records a video in which he breaks down in tears, sobbing about his lot in life. The 20-year-old transgender Starbucks employee, Eva Sunshine, who goes by the name Evan, uploaded the controversial video to Twitter on October 29, 2022, explaining the horrors of having to work eight hours straight for the popular coffee chain.
In the bizarre video, the coffee shop worker was heard complaining about the long shift at Starbucks and how customers were actually showing up to order drinks. Evan, who is a college student, had wanted the shift to be very slow and for the coffee chain that employs him to lose money that day due to a lack of sales. Unfortunately for Evan, the shop was quite busy, and he was expected to work really hard to satisfy all the thirsty customers coming to his Starbucks location to order lattes and Frappuccinos.
“People wonder why we need a union at Starbucks,” Evan says in the video while reaching the point of tears. “And I’m literally about to quit. I don’t know if I’m going to do it, but I want to. I almost walked out today, and I’m crying in the backroom now, and I almost cried on the floor.”
Evan is revealing how overwhelming life as a Starbucks employee is for him when he is scheduled for an eight-hour shift where dozens of customers come into the store looking to order their favorite coffee beverage.
“I’m a full-time student. I get scheduled for like twenty-five hours per week, and on weekends they schedule me the entire day – open to close. I was scheduled for eight and a half hours on both Saturday and Sunday. I’m three and a half hours into my shift, and there are so many customers. We have four people on the floor all day. Only five people were put on the schedule, and one had to call out. Only four people are in the whole store, and there are so many customers.”
Evan pleaded, “Why did they only schedule five people? We only have thirteen people employed at this store and so many customers.”
“It’s just not sustainable,” Evan said.
The video has since gone viral, with many people both mocking and sympathizing with Evan for his situation. While some have expressed empathy for the Starbucks employee, pointing to minimum wages as part of the problem, others have mocked him for “complaining” about having to work an eight-hour shift. Some have even called the video a “bizarre” attempt to get out of work, while others think Evan was simply venting his frustration at having to work such long hours.
Regardless of what people think about the video, it has brought attention to the plight of Starbucks workers who face long hours and low wages in their jobs. It is an important reminder that many people are struggling to make ends meet, even those who are employed in seemingly “good” jobs.
