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Starbucks CEO to employees: We will fight to keep 'human and civil rights intact'

In a memo to employees, CEO Howard Schultz made a commitment to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years, stressed his opposition to the president's proposed wall on the Mexican border and promised employees that they will not lose their health care coverage.

January 27, 2017

In reaction to President Donald Trump's executive order banning people from seven Muslim countries from entering the U.S, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said Sunday that the chain will "neither stand by, nor stand silent, as the uncertainty around the new Administration's actions grows with each passing day."

In a memo to employees, Schultz not only addressed the executive order, he made a commitment to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business.

"We have a long history of hiring young people looking for opportunities and a pathway to a new life around the world," he wrote. "This is why we are doubling down on this commitment by working with our equity market employees as well as joint venture and licensed market partners in a concerted effort to welcome and seek opportunities for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and discrimination."

The chain will start the hiring effort in the U.S. by making the initial focus of its hiring efforts on individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where U.S. military has asked for their support.    

Schultz also promised to stay in constant contact with employees.

"We are living in an unprecedented time, one in which we are witness to the conscience of our country, and the promise of the American Dream, being called into question. These uncertain times call for different measures and communication tools than we have used in the past," he wrote. "Kevin and I are going to accelerate our commitment to communicating with you more frequently, including leveraging new technology platforms moving forward. I am hearing the alarm you all are sounding that the civility and human rights we have all taken for granted for so long are under attack, and want to use a faster, more immediate form of communication to engage with you on matters that concern us all as partners."

Schultz also listed several other programs in which he is committed, including:

Support for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

Schultz reminded employees that he is enthusiastically behind theDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

"There are nearly three-quarters of a million hard-working people contributing to our communities and our economy because of this program," he wrote. "At Starbucks, we are proud to call them partners and to help them realize their own American Dream.  We want them to feel welcome and included in our success, which is why we reimburse them for the biennial fee they must pay to stay in the program and why we have offered DACA-related services at our Opportunity Youth hiring fairs. 

Building Bridges, not walls

Starbucks has been in Mexico since 2002, and has 600 stores in 60 cities across the country, which together employ over 7,000 Mexicans.

The chain has sourced coffee from Mexico's producers and their families for three decades and last fall, announced the creation of a farmer support center in Chiapas to help accelerate growth and the export of the region's coffee. Starbucks has also donated more than $2 million to support the livelihood, food security and water quality of coffee-producing communities in Oaxaca. 

"Coffee is what unites our common heritage, and as I told Alberto Torrado, the leader of our partnership with Alsea in Mexico, we stand ready to help and support our Mexican customers, partners and their families as they navigate what impact proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes might have on their business and their trust of Americans," he wrote. "But we will continue to invest in this critically important market all the same."

With the support of thousands of Starbucks partners and millions of customers, Schultz said the chain has donated over 1  million coffee trees to support 70,000 families, and we will expand the initiative this year to generate another 4 million tree donations.

Commitment to health care

 In the memo, Schultz restated his commitment to providing coverage to employees as directed by the Affordable Care Act.

"If you are benefits-eligible, you will always have access to health insurance through Starbucks," he wrote. "Many of you have expressed concerns that recent government actions may jeopardize your ability to participate in the Affordable Care Act. If the recent Executive Order related to health care remains in place and the Affordable Care Act is repealed causing you to lose your health care coverage, you will always have the ability to return and can do so within 30 days of losing that coverage rather than having to wait for an open enrollment period."

The CEO stressed in his note that he and the rest of his leadership team will stay true to their values and do everything possible to support and invest in every partner's well-being while taking the actions that are squarely within our ability to control.

"This is our focus: Providing a Third Place of respite for those around the world who seek it, daily," he wrote. "Starbucks has and will always stand for opportunity — opportunity for our young people who are working to land their first job in the 75 countries where we do business, opportunity for our farmers who care so deeply for the highest of quality coffee we offer to customers all around the globe, and yes, opportunity for those who come to America in search of their own fresh start — whether that is with Starbucks directly, or through our suppliers or our partner companies."

He ended the note by telling employees that their voices mattered more than ever, and it is their obligation to make elected officials hear them. He urged them to use their collective power of their voices to do the same while respecting the diverse viewpoints of the 90 million customers who visit Starbucks in more than 25,000 locations around the world.

So, while we seek to understand what the new Administration's policies mean for us and our business both domestically and around the world, I can assure you that we will do whatever it takes to support you, our partners, to realize your own dreams and achieve your own opportunities," he wrote. "We are in business to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time — whether that neighborhood is in a Red State or a Blue State; a Christian country or a Muslim country; a divided nation or a united nation. That will not change.  You have my word on that."

Cover photo: Refugees in 2015 helped by the Red Cross and Starbucks. (photo courtesy of Starbucks)