Entire Staff of Bagel Shop Quit After They Say Manager Wrongly Fired

The moment employees of a Vacaville, California bagel store quite en masse has gone viral on TikTok, racking up more than 4 million views.

Beonce Sarmiento, a former employee of Noah's NY Bagels, posted the video on January 15, captioning it: "say no to toxic management."

Sarmiento posted subsequent videos explaining that she and 15 co-workers quit the bakery out of solidarity with their former general manager, Bre Kowalski, who they believe had her contract terminated unfairly.

After quitting, the former employees spoke to KCRA-TV to explain their actions. They said they wanted to prove to their employers that they are not disposable and easily replaceable.

"Then it went viral and everyone was like 'yeah take a stand, you guys did that,'" Sarmiento said.

She added: "We are not replaceable, we are not disposable and you can't just fire someone and not let them know.

Kowalski also said she had been suspended on Friday. She was told it was due to a customer complaint, but she argued there was no complaint. Kowalski later saw in her bank account that she was given her final paycheck and then believed she had been fired.

"I just wanted to know, was I terminated because nobody even said I was terminated, they said I was suspended," Kowalski said.

She continued: "So, they had already fired me without telling me I was fired."

She added that hours later she was told she was fired for a different reason. She has said that no one has returned her calls since termination. Kowalski also said she did not ask her co-workers to quit on her behalf, but appreciated the gesture.

"This isn't the end of the line for any of us, this team is very smart and very capable, they are very hard workers and will easily find a good job that they are worthy of, I feel the same for me too," Kowalski said when talking about the next step.

The former workers said their decision to quit was also motivated by other issues with management. The former head baker, William Cox-Boone, said that this decision has reaffirmed how close the co-workers are as a team and as a family.

Noah's NY Bagels addressed the walkout in a statement, saying it is investigating the matter and that it takes the treatment of staff very seriously.

A statement given to KCRA-TV read: "As an organization, we pride ourselves on providing a rewarding work experience for all our team members as we seek to provide the best possible experience for our guests."

Newsweek has contacted Noah's NY Bagels for comment.