\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\u201cAhmed, we \u2014 the workers of Moka & Co of Ann Arbor Workers Collective \u2014 have decided to do a full work stoppage today,\u201d Sital said. \u201cThis means that no worker will clock in or cover any shift today. This is a direct result of your failure to meet workers\u2019 demands that were sent to you one week ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Sital, this is not the first time Alrayashi has withheld tips from Moka & Co staff. She told the crowd workers have repeatedly needed to confront him in person to receive the tips they were owed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis seems to be a philosophy that I think is best represented by one of the first few weeks I started working, when a worker asked our manager why they weren\u2019t getting their tips sometimes,\u201d Sital said. \u201cYou know what the manager told us? He told us closed mouths won\u2019t get fed, meaning that unless you bring up this concern very directly, very publicly, open in front of everybody, they\u2019re not going to do a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alrayashi also manages a Moka & Co location in East Lansing. One worker from this store, Franka Schauss, told the crowd that Moka & Co workers in East Lansing are facing similar problems with tip payments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also have the same issues with the tips, where there will be no transparency about how they\u2019re getting divided,\u201d Schauss said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some other issues that I believe aren\u2019t issues at this location, but we haven\u2019t received our W-2s. I just now received my W-2 last night. \u2026 What else, we do not get paid every two weeks. Sometimes we\u2019ll have to wait about a week and a half (later) to get our pay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nSchauss later told The Daily that pay delays at the East Lansing location varied significantly, sometimes lasting a few days and sometimes lasting significantly longer. Additionally, Schauss said Alrayashi occasionally made late payments through physical checks, which he required workers to pick up in person.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Sital said the strike was a first for the coffee shop and employees were prepared to continue until they were properly paid.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as I know there\u2019s never been an organized staff working to get their demands made under this management,\u201d Sital said. \u201cThe plan right now is we are officially on strike for today; we will see how management responds to that. If it needs to go further, we\u2019re willing to go further. We have the full staff support \u2014 that\u2019s big.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a message to The Daily, Alrayashi claimed that all tips between November and February had been properly distributed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure this is a big misunderstanding,\u201d Alrayashi wrote. \u201cEmployees were concerned that they weren\u2019t paid all of their tips, $4045. It\u2019s a pooled tip system, and tips are divided based on percent of hours worked. ALL employees were paid out of tips they have earned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nMoka & Co workers disputed this claim, alleging that Alrayashi under-reported their hours in order to allocate fewer tips to them. Employees also reported receiving late payment through informal payment services such as Zelle, instead of typical pay stubs. Alrayashi confirmed that both methods were used to pay employees at different times.<\/p>\n
Concluding his message, Alrayashi said he wished his employees took less drastic measures to resolve the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not in the business of stealing barista tips,\u201d Alrayashi wrote. \u201cThey are the team, they are the backbone. \u2026 they make my customers day and keep their cups full of coffee. I just wish they asked for help instead of the allegations and accusations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moka & Co staff said they approached Alrayashi multiple times to discuss tips before issuing a list of formal demands and striking.<\/p>\n
Many of the picket\u2019s attendees were not workers themselves, but community members attending in support. In an interview with The Daily, Public Health senior Erek Mirque said consumers should boycott the store until tips are disbursed.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\u201cI used to come to Moka & Co at least once a week,\u201d Mirque said. \u201cIt was one of my favorite spots, especially because my friends worked here. I will absolutely not spend a single dollar at Moka & Co until the owner pays all of their workers and meets their demands.\u201d<\/p>\n
International studies lecturer David Zeglen, a democratic socialist candidate<\/a> for Ann Arbor City Council, also attended the picket. In an interview with The Daily, Zeglen said he formerly supported Moka & Co as a more ethical alternative to Starbucks \u2014 which he disapproves of due to the chain\u2019s issues<\/a> with workers\u2019 rights and fraught relationship<\/a> with the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions<\/a> movement \u2014 and was disappointed in the company\u2019s management.<\/p>\n\u201cPlaces like Moka & Co are growing a lot in the city right now because of a lot of pushback against franchises like Starbucks,\u201d Zeglen said. \u201cMoka & Co has the opportunity to set a new standard to replace places like Starbucks, and I did support Moka & Co initially. \u2026 But now I will not support them whatsoever until they actually treat their workers with fairness, dignity and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sital told The Daily she hopes customers would reach out to Moka & Co to express disapproval of their management\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can ask for the manager, if the manager is in, and let him know that he needs to pay their workers,\u201d Sital said. \u201cYou can message Moka & Co on their Instagram. You can respond to Google Reviews saying \u2018Hey, pay your workers.\u2019 We really want the public invested in what is going on; they\u2019ve been really trying to hide this behind closed doors.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.michigandaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/T8A9158.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1\")
![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.michigandaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/T8A9188.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1\")