I don't know if Mega Thread is the appropriate title, but this didn't quite feel like update 4. I have decided to make a single thread for Knead with all of the information I know with links down below in order for all of you wonderful comrades who have been following this.
Five days ago, on August 19th, Knead workers in Harrisburg, PA presented to the owners of Knead Slice Shop a petition to hold a union election. They have been organizing this for months and went public this day. Within hours of this announcement, Knead closed the main location temporarily “due to COVID and not having enough workers to work the necessary shifts,” despite the workers saying publicly they are available and ready to work. On their Instagram post about temporarily closing, they deleted any comment (and blocked the user) that mentioned the union, before disabling comments all together. They kept the smaller, market location open for one day, allowing 3 workers to work.
On August 23th, Knead stated they will be closing both locations permanently, citing that they respect and recognize the worker's rights to organize and they hope the workers respect their RELATED right to shut down the business during this “extremely difficult operational period” Since this post, Knead had disabled comments.
On local Harrisburg Facebook pages, I'd say majority of the community is standing behind these workers and there are talks of boycotting any future businesses Jennie and Terry open.
It is worth noting that prior to this, Knead was not at all thinking of shutting their doors, and in fact, were in talks to open a third location.
Since the closure, four articles have come out. Jennie O' Neill, one of the owners, has declined to comment.
if you like stickers, a local artist made a sticker pack and 100% of profits go to Knead workers
In order to receive direct information from the workers, and to stand in solidarity, please follow their Instagram:
@kneadworkersunion
Their GoFundMe for them to recover lost wages is on their Instagram page. My last comment with the link was flagged so I cannot post the link here. Apologies.
The workers are aware of these posts on Reddit, and they thank you all so much for your support these last five days. Workers Unite!