Howard Schultz

Yet Another ‘Progressive’ Starbucks Policy is Costing It Business

Posted on by Paul Chesser
PHOTO: Marcopako via Creative Commons

Two years ago, National Legal and Policy Center’s Carl Horowitz foretold that policies implemented by Starbucks, in response to a nationwide uproar over an incident in a Philadelphia store, “will not work.”

Horowitz emphasized the failures of mandatory diversity training, which the company imposed on employees across its more than 8,000 locations in May 2018, while shutting down business for the day. The action was taken following a conflict in an upscale neighborhood store, in which two black men waited for a friend at a table, and were denied access to the Starbucks’s restroom because they had yet to purchase anything, were then arrested for refusing to leave.

“I’m embarrassed, ashamed,” said then-CEO Howard Schultz – a liberal who briefly contemplated running for president this year – at the time. “I think what occurred was reprehensible at every single level. I think I … Read More ➡

Sorry Starbucks, You’re Stuck With Howard Schultz

Posted on by Peter Flaherty

Now that Howard Schultz supposedly has disengaged himself from Starbucks and is considering a run for the presidency in 2020, the company fears his political pursuits will hurt their bottom line.

Well too bad.

After decades of liberal activism and supporting Democratic candidates like Hillary Clinton, Schultz now says he may run as an independent. Some Democratic Party loyalists have gone ballistic, hurling invectives at Schultz and claiming that he will ensure the re-election of the president by splitting the anti-Trump vote.

Moreover, they are threatening boycotts. Leftist filmmaker Michael Moore urged everyone to avoid Starbucks until Schultz “announces he’s not running.”

And raising the stakes, Democratic Super PAC American Bridge 21st Century – backed by billionaire George Soros – recently targeted Starbucks, casting doubts on Schultz’s leadership. Among the charges: The company paid $46 million in settlements to employees over wage and compensation grievances. “[American Bridge] is clearly trying … Read More ➡

Time for Starbucks to Break With Schultz’ Left-Wing Politics

Posted on by Paul Chesser

Howard Schultz
PHOTO: sillygwailo/Creative Commons

It has been reported that the idea of former CEO Howard Schultz running as a Democrat for the presidency is giving Starbucks investors, financial analysts, and company officials cause for concern.

It’s apparently not far-fetched. When he finally announced his long-anticipated departure from the company on June 26, Schultz told employees he would think “about a range of options for myself, from philanthropy to public service, but I’m a long way from knowing what the future holds.”

According to Politico, a person (whose identity was not disclosed by the site) close to the company’s current leaders said, “They don’t want him, as a retired founder, running for office. It’s a huge headache.”

Should it be difficult to believe that those who are responsible for the company bottom line would dread at least a two-year campaign by Schultz, which would link Starbucks with the Democratic Party … Read More ➡

Starbucks ‘Anti-Bias’ Training Will Not Work

Posted on by Carl Horowitz

Howard Schultz
PHOTO: sillygwailo/Creative Commons

Never before in the history of corporate America has a company so welcomed accusations of racism as Starbucks. But that could have been expected given the worldview of Executive Chairman Howard Schultz.

Several weeks ago, Schultz announced that on May 29 he would close around 8,000 of the company’s outlets to train employees on how to recognize and avoid unconscious social bias. This was in response to the publicized arrest on April 18 of two black males at a Starbucks coffee shop in Philadelphia. Whatever his ulterior motives, he and other company executives should avoid this route. The training is guaranteed to be expensive. And it will backfire.

Corporate executives today know that to keep their jobs and avoid boycotts they must persuade employees to shed supposedly unconscious race and gender biases lurking within their souls. And though the remedy, known universally as “diversity,” promotes teamwork, in practice it … Read More ➡

Starbucks Closing Stores on May 29 for ‘Anti-Bias’ Indoctrination

Posted on by Carl Horowitz

The term “corporate diversity” these days refers far less to a diversity of opinion than to a diversity of demography in which people submit to rigid codes of speech and behavior if they want to stay employed.

Of the many companies enforcing this regime, Starbucks has been especially zealous. On April 18, 2018, Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz announced that sometime in May he would close about 8,000 of its coffee shops for an afternoon to train employees on how to recognize and avoid “unconscious bias.” His statement was in response to the highly-publicized arrest of two black males at a Philadelphia store.

For the last few decades, and with increasing speed, major corporations in this country are incorporating racial, ethnic and gender radicalism into their business practices. Whether out of fear or conviction, officials now reflexively succumb to Leftist campaigns that target them for injustices against minority groups.

Click … Read More ➡

Starbucks’ Refugees Move Costs Them With Customers

Posted on by Paul Chesser

PHOTO: sillygwailo/Creative Commons

Starbucks and its CEO Howard Schultz are known well for wading in to divisive political issues and in support for liberal candidates like Hillary Clinton, yet it never seems to cost them significantly in either sales or stock price.

Even when Schultz told shareholders to sell if they don’t agree with corporation stances on issues like gay marriage, customers and investors have largely stuck around.

That trend likely won’t change after the latest controversial stance that Schultz took, utilizing the policies of the company he leads (until early April, when he steps down) to advance his political goals. But some cracks are showing with this one.

Last month Schultz announced the company would hire 10,000 refugees in its stores around the world, after President Trump’s executive order that temporarily prohibited visits from citizens of seven nations that showed a heightened terror threat to … Read More ➡

I’ve Had My Last Cup of Starbucks Coffee

Posted on by Peter Flaherty

Starbucks coffee cupAt the Starbucks annual meeting on March 20, CEO Howard Schultz told a shareholder named Tom Strobhar to sell his stock if he disagreed with the company’s embrace of gay marriage.

Shareholders do have this prerogative. That is the beauty of securities markets. But the issue is not so simple. Institutional investors now own the majority of shares of publicly-held companies traded on U.S. exchanges. Many people own stock through mutual and pension funds, overseen by professional managers. As a practical matter, lots of Starbucks shareholders do not have the opportunity to easily sell their stock.

But there is a larger issue. Why is one of the world’s biggest and most widely admired companies taking sides on such a controversial issue? If Schultz can tell shareholders who disagree with him to take a hike, doesn’t this necessarily extend to customers, partners and employees? After all, these relationships are voluntary, too.… Read More ➡

Memo to Starbucks: Dig In, Smell the Coffee, Fight Back

Posted on by Carl Horowitz

starbucks-coffee-cup-227x300Starbucks, that epitome of a socially-conscious corporation, is now the target of a campaign among self-styled socially-conscious activists. One can understand why radical activists would go after discount retail behemoth Wal-Mart. But who would have thought they’d have classy Starbucks in their sights? Last month, Brave New Films, an independent documentary production company based in Culver City, California, launched its “Stop Starbucks” campaign. The website features a four-minute video on YouTube alleging mistreatment by the company of its employees, plus a petition demanding Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz “quit following Wal-Mart’s anti-union example.” Within a week, nearly 12,000 viewers signed it. The campaign also features a Twitter attack, replete with messages like “I want my union with my latte” and “Schultz makes millions, workers make beans.”

All this somehow makes sense. The head of Brave New Films is Robert Greenwald, producer of the 2005 anti-corporate agitprop feature, “Wal-Mart: The High … Read More ➡