Is partner here a way of saying employee but without saying employee?

I was a GAP employee long ago. That was a "good" job because I saw how the "Associate Managers" barely made more than me, the "Assistant Managers" were stuck at 30, so I spent my lunch hours reading computer science textbooks. I mean "good" job in that it taught me exactly what I never wanted to do long term. I recall they had this management consulting team come in with an acronym "GAP ACT" (Greet, Approach, Product add-on, Accessorize, Close/cashier (?) and then Thank"). I suppose they were right because 30 years later I have not forgotten it, but I do recall quitting when they told me to take a toothbrush and clean the plastic fronts of the jeans racks. What a shitty job, and I bet it is not much better for Starbucks employees.

Yeah pretty much. IIRC they give each employee like one share of stock each year to justify the language.