Following weeks of rumored turmoil and turnover of his venue’s staff, Ryan Stowe—owner of the Know—reportedly posted photos last Friday night of two former employees’ W-2 forms to the Northeast Portland punk bar’s Facebook page, with their names, addresses, and Social Security numbers fully exposed. The posting followed ongoing reports of conflict between Stowe and members of the Know’s staff, several of whom have recently quit the venue.
As the Portland State Vanguard already pointed out, sharing SSNs publicly violates Oregon state law. The screenshots were deleted after commenters expressed outrage over the SSN-sharing and vowed to boycott the venue, but the damage is done: Every concert scheduled at the Know this week has been canceled or relocated.
The Mercury spoke with two former employees of the Know (both wish to remain anonymous), who shared their “love for the Know and how heartbreaking, embarrassing, and shocking this all is.”
In an email sent to the Mercury, Stowe said the conflict originated when the bar’s former manager told other employees to expect their W-2 forms a month earlier than the deadline (which was January 31): “I know how taxes work and have always paid them, but for some reason the staff believed my former bar manager and her lies about how taxes work and they all believed they wouldn’t be getting their W-2’s regardless of how many times I told them they’d be getting them.” He also claims that staff members drunkenly trashed the venue in response to the W-2 confusion.
According to the ex-employees we spoke with, the Know’s entire staff quit. They said they still haven’t received their W-2 forms, despite the screenshots posted to Facebook, and some of them are still owed wages. The ex-employees dispute Stowe’s timeline and version of events.
What happens next with the Know is still unclear, but based on the calendar changes this week, the future’s not looking great: Tomorrow’s Nick Merz show is canceled, Thursday’s Thick Business show has moved to the Fixin’ To, Friday’s Pynnacles show has moved to Dante’s, and Saturday’s Ed Schrader’s Music Beat show has moved to Bunk Bar.
Nothing reported about it, he posted the W2s, I have screen shots.
The entire staff quit
“the conflict originated when the bar’s former manager told other employees to expect their W-2 forms a month earlier than the deadline (which was January 31)”
WTF? Why would anyone be pissed about getting their W-2 early? Are they worried they might also get their tax return early too?