A Former Cat’s Cradle Employee Accuses Management of Condoning Bad Workplace Behavior and Issues Collective Demands for Change

Yesterday, Katie Rowe, a former employee of Cat’s Cradle, posted a public letter on Facebook accusing the venue’s management of “condoning bad behavior in the workplace.” The letter goes on to outline four demands for changes that Rowe says were developed with other current and former Cradle employees. 

In a post that she later deleted, Rowe said she was fired from her job at the Cradle in July and alluded to long-term issues with management. On July 27, she posted about the deletion, stating, “I’ve removed my previous post about the Cradle because I fear the repercussions it will have for current employees.” 

In her August 15 post with the letter to the Cradle, Rowe says the list of demands was sent to Cradle management on August 3 and had not been met with a satisfying response by the time of an employee meeting on August 6.

“I truly believe that, with these things in place, we can prevent the poor communication and misconduct that took place at Mergefest,” Rowe wrote, referring to an unknown incident that took place during the music festival at the Cradle July 24–27, around when Rowe was fired.

The demands in the letter allude to specific ongoing dynamics in ambiguous language, calling for “clear lines of communication in regards to management,” that “only people employed by the Cat’s Cradle may do anything work-related in relation to directing other employees,” that “bartenders in the main room obtain control of their tips,” and that “all employees, especially people in authority positions, abstain from consuming alcohol while they are on the clock.”

Rowe declined to comment at this time. Cat’s Cradle owner Frank Heath also declined to comment on the list of demands, but told the INDY, “Our employees are important to us, we respect their privacy, and we are actively engaging with them to address any issues.” 

In her post, Rowe expressed cautious optimism that the conversations would still lead to change and, perhaps, the reinstatement of her job. Though confined to her to circles so far, social media response to Rowe’s posts has been overwhelmingly positive. 

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