Protesters gathered outside an Upstate Starbucks Monday to protest the suspension of workers and the store's closure by management.A couple dozen workers and supporters held signs reading "Closed due to unfair labor practices" and "We want answers" after they said management at the store on Clemson Boulevard, in Anderson, suspended workers in retaliation for trying to organize a union.Protesters said the coffee retailer near I-85 has been closed since Saturday after workers collectively gave management a letter listing demands for better working conditions. and benefits."Even though their benefits are subpar, Starbucks loves to tout their health care and ASU--free college," shift supervisor and protesting worker Aneil Tripathi told WYFF News 4.But Tripathi said the managers make it difficult for workers to qualify for those benefits."You make sure they schedule you 20 hours a week to make sure you get those benefits, but they intentionally cut hours back so you cannot make that threshold of 20 hours a week and they lose benefits," Tripathi said. "So, the big concern right now is benefits, just because people rely on this job for health care."WYFF News 4 reached out to Starbucks for a response, but got no immediate reply. An email sent to WYFF News 4 by Feldman Strategies, a public relations firm representing the Starbucks employees, said workers at the store collectively presented a letter of demands to their store manager. "Presenting issues and demands to management is protected by federal labor law," the email said.According to the email, the company put the workers on paid time off, suspended them indefinitely, and banned them from visiting any Starbucks location, while closing down the store."The company’s actions in Anderson are another attempt by Starbucks to fire union leaders, retaliate against workers, and intimidate other Starbucks workers from organizing," the email said. According to the National Labor Relations Board, nearly 210 Starbucks stores across the country have officially voted to unionize, as of last week.In May, the store located on Pelham Road, near I-85 in Greenville, became the first location in South Carolina to unionize.