Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley is facing backlash on the campaign trail as she rounds out her bus tour in the Palmetto State ahead of the state’s Republican primary on Feb. 24.

The former governor hosted a rally in Gilbert on Feb. 10 at The Grove on Augusta. The event attracted more than 100 people, nearly 20 of whom were part of an organized protest.

Just minutes after addressing the crowd, Haley was interrupted by a shouting Naomi Harris, a Union of Southern Service Workers spokesperson. Harris was promptly shut down after saying she was a Waffle House employee who had been a victim of gun violence while at work.

“I just wanted to know what Nikki's plans are for protecting workers in our state because she's a union buster but the union is the only thing supporting workers,” Harris told the Chronicle after being removed from the event.

“The union is the only thing that is going to back workers and say, ‘Hey, your job cannot treat you like that,” she added.

Harris wasn’t the only “disruptor” during the event, as several other members of the union were scattered through the crowd, with intentions to shout questions for the candidate to answer.

“How many of you are going to be disruptors like this? Go ahead and raise your hand so that we can go ahead and take care of it now,” Haley told the crowd. 

“You're welcome to have questions but right now we're doing a rally,” she added.  “Afterward, I talk to everybody before I leave, you can get any answer that you want. But right now, I ask you to be respectful to everybody else that came out to hear me speak, and then you can ask your questions after.”

The disruptors asked about issues that ranged from healthcare to gun violence and the rights of service workers.

“Welcome to Silly Season,” commented Haley in response to a protestor speaking up about her experiences with diabetes. 

Despite the number of protestors who spoke up during the rally, only one was able to entice a direct response to their concerns. 

After an attendee spoke up about his status as a disabled veteran, Haley took time to respond and explain her plans for active military and veteran healthcare. 

“First of all, thank you for your service,” Haley said. “Secondly, I will tell you that my husband is a combat veteran … My parents always taught us to take care of those who take care of them.”

“It's shameful how we treat our veterans,” she added.

All other protestors were shut down and removed from the event by Haley’s security team.

Tricia Anderson, a restaurant worker in Columbia and member of the union, spoke with the Chronicle about Haley’s response to the protestors.

“She talked about the healthcare for veterans but only them, my question is, along with the minimum wage situation, my job doesn't offer any health benefits or coverage for people that are below management status,” said Anderson. “What are you going to do to fix that? Because that's not fair.” 

Anderson didn’t speak up during the rally but planned to ask Haley her questions during the meet and greet, but was deterred when security requested to hold her phone during the greeting.

“I wasn’t comfortable with that, but these questions need to be answered,” Anderson told the Chronicle. “She's willing to fix military pay cuts and don't get me wrong, I support the military, but my question is what is she going to do to fix the low minimum wage?”

Haley has denounced the possibility of raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 several times throughout her campaign. 

“Biden’s plan to double the federal minimum wage would kill between 1.3  3and.7 million jobs and burden small businesses that are already struggling. We need to remember that government spending isn’t ‘free.’ Ultimately, taxpayers will be called upon to foot the bill,” Haley’s official Facebook account posted in January 2021. 

Maryland, New Jersey, and upstate New York have reached or exceed $15 an hour as of January 2024, joining four other states to increase to more than $15. 

Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Virginia have passed legislation to surpass $15 an hour in the coming years. 

“We’re still working off old laws that say it’s okay for servers like me to make $2.13,” Harris told the Chronicle. “Are you kidding me? You [Haley] want to be president so bad then help us, help the working class.”