Dining Workers at Cary Retirement Home Strike Over Supervisor Abuse and Low Wages

Fifteen servers at the Searstone Retirement Community in Cary have been on strike since the beginning of April 2026 and picketed outside their workplace on May 12. They walked off the job due to grievances that include low wages, a cruel supervisor, and management’s failure to protect staff from sexual harassment.

At the strike’s outset, the workers made four demands:

• $25 per hour wage for dining department staff

• Permanent removal of a manager named Aris

• Re-hire offers to wrongfully terminated workers or those forced to resign

• An apology from management to residents for the dysfunction in the dining department

Management tried to divide the workers by asking them to meet one-by-one during the first three weeks of the strike. The servers refused, maintaining themselves as a unit.

On April 22, supervisors agreed to meet with the workers as a group. In a partial concession, they told the servers that Aris would no longer work in their facility. The workers asked whether he had been fired or transferred to another retirement home. Management has not yet answered.

After more than a month on strike, the servers and community supporters picketed their workplace on May 12. An Instagram post promoting the picket suggested that workers were especially focused on the $25 per hour demand [1].

A word-of-mouth network centered around UE 150 and the Union of Southern Service Workers has helped bring attention to the strike. A strike fund sponsored by NC Mutual Aid has raised more than $2,100 from 31 donors [2]. In addition to requesting donations, servers have asked community supporters to reach out to Searstone management to encourage them to meet the workers demands, with directions available on the Chuffed strike fund page.

The main trigger of strike appears to have been the conduct of Aris, a manager in the dining department. Workers say he was incompetent and abusive, habitually screaming at workers up close to intimidate them. The mistreatment fell disproportionately on female servers and women of color. When workers tried to report him, they were reprimanded or fired. No action was taken to remove Aris until workers made it a strike demand.

Low wages at Searstone are another grievance. Workers say none of them earn a livable wage, with many holding two jobs to support their families. Some have worked at the retirement community for years and seen their hourly pay rise by less than fifty cents. One worker was reprimanded after a second job conflicted with a mandatory meeting that had not appeared on her schedule. Workers also say that colleagues with a family connection to a resident are paid more than their peers.

The servers also describe management’s failure to protect dining staff from sexual harassment. Workers are subjected to inappropriate comments and unwanted touching by residents. When one underage server documented in writing that she had been groped by a specific resident, management said female servers would no longer be assigned to serve him. That policy was not enforced.

The hostile work environment created by Aris and other factors also led to an overwork problem. As workers left through resignation or termination, the dining department became chronically understaffed. Management pushed the work onto the remaining servers rather than hiring replacements. Aris would tell the team that full staffing was unnecessary while also demanding that workers provide service at the level of a fine dining restaurant. Servers never received that type of training, and their pay doesn’t meet fine dining standards.

Information on the Searstone strike is limited, but it appears that workers are still on strike, pressing their demands. At the time of this publishing, the strike fund remains active and no resolution has been publicly announced.

Work Cited

1. Linteau, Nicole Nadal (@nicolenadal.exe), et al. "We need your help and support! Join us on the picket line!..." Instagram, 10 May 2026, www.instagram.com/p/DYKnJxlFgvk/.

2. "Strike Fund (Ongoing Strike at Searstone)." Chuffed, NC Mutual Aid, Accessed on 21 May 2026, chuffed.org/project/177777-strike-fund-ongoing-strike-at-Searstone.