‘I do not feel safe at my store’: Stoddard Starbucks workers speak out about conditions

Jaclyn Herndon has been working at Starbucks on Grand River Avenue and Stoddard Street for four years now.

During her first six months at the location, she went to clean the bathroom, and when she opened the unlocked door, she saw a man facing the door and masturbating.

“I was sent home, and the next day I came in, and it was like nothing ever happened,” Herndon said.

Herndon is not the only one at her Starbucks store who felt like something needed to be done, because last month, the Stoddard Starbucks location filed for a union election with the NLRB.

This is the second store in Greater Lansing to do so, with the Lake Lansing Road and Kerry Street Starbucks being the first.

Various employees at the Stoodard Starbucks reported feeling unsafe and unsupported in the face of dangerous workplace conditions.

Herndon said she has told management that she feels unsafe in the store multiple times, but the answer is the same.

“Feeling scared for my life, feeling awful and nervous and anxious every single time I’m in the store and telling the people who are supposed to be protecting me in those situations that I feel unsafe and not getting more than an ‘I’m sorry you feel that way’ or ‘I’m sorry you had to experience that’ is incredibly frustrating and infuriating,” Herndon said.

“We’ve been clear that we respect our partners’ voices and their right to organize,” a Starbucks spokesperson said in an email to The State News. “From the beginning, we’ve also been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed.”

Herndon said having a contract negotiated by a union will help hold Starbucks accountable for how it has affected the baristas at their stores.

Joey Hauser will exercise extra year of eligibility, return to MSU

After over a month of deliberation, Joey Hauser has made a decision.

The redshirt senior forward announced Wednesday morning that he will be exercising his extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 and return to MSU for the 2022-23 season.

Hauser has been a fixture in the Michigan State frontcourt over the past two seasons since transferring to MSU from Marquette.

He averaged 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds a game in split duty at power forward with junior Malik Hall.

Hauser’s return will be great news for MSU and Head Coach Tom Izzo.

The Spartans have lost two big men, senior Marcus Bingham Jr. and junior Julius Marble II, so far this offseason and will need as many bodies as possible in the frontcourt next season.

Stoopfest 2022: Meet the Headliners

This weekend, April 22 and 23, across Lansing, Stoopfest Music Festival will bring new and exciting sounds to downtown, expanding the local music scene to artists from across the country.

Some of the headliners sat down with the State News to explain their music and what they are thrilled to bring to the festival that has not been able to occur due to the pandemic in a couple years.

Frontier Ruckus is the headliner most familiar with the area. Matthew Milia, the main lyricist and leader of the band, released the band’s first album while he was studying at Michigan State University.

While the band has not performed much since the pandemic, they have been able to record their sixth LP, taking this time to reinvent their sound and craft songs that they are excited to perform at Stoopfest.

Milia said they are reverting back to their original roots when they first started to create music, releasing acoustic and americano driven songs with lots of lyrics.

The next headliner, Screaming Females, are just excited to be playing anywhere after a long drought of live music. Jarrett Doughtery on drums for the band explained that in their long history of playing together, they have never played so few shows in a long span of time.

Another headlining act having a history of coming out to Lansing for a long time is Brook Pridemore, being an innovator of music across the country and bringing a new genre to smaller communities.

Based on original reporting by Dan Netter, Jared Ramsey and Liz Nass. Script by Shakyra Mabone.