A Drive-Thru Customer Attacked a Worker for Unwanted Ice in a Drink. Thousands in Tips Rolled In.

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Who in their right mind throws a soda at someone working in a fast-food restaurant’s drive-thru window—a worker who is six-months pregnant, during a pandemic, no less—all because they didn’t want ice in that drink? Tips rolled in from across the world after a witness saw what happened and asked if she could help. She’d approached the worker in suburban Atlanta, saw that she was shaken and soaked, and offered to support her. A social media post drew a huge response, reported by Tricia Escobedo of CNN. “I have a surprise for you,” the witness told the worker before mailing an envelope of cash.

“She gave me the envelope and I couldn’t do nothing but cry because I wasn’t expecting that,” the worker said. A hat tip to Escobedo for amplifying the story. I’d shared this summer the news of a customer berating a barista for asking her to wear a mask, followed by $32,000 in tips; a $1,300 tip for a Texas server; an Arkansas worker landing a customer’s $1,200 stimulus check; bakery workers scoring a $1,000 tip in Florida; $93,000 for a server who’d defended customers on the receiving end of drunkenly spewed racist comments by another customer; $3,000 on a $124 tab for a New Orleans bartender; $1,600 on a $99 tab in Ottawa; $1,000 on a $43 tab at a New Jersey restaurant; $330 from one server to another; and a pizza deliverer welcoming $100 on a less-than-$30 tab.

But the underlying pay structures, working conditions, and health care access aren’t equitable or sustainable, giving occasion to these headlines in the first place. If you have stories of support and solidarity, send them this way: recharge@motherjones.com.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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