<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1654534010397,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000168-ed7d-d9d9-a9ec-ff7daffb0002","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1654534010397,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000168-ed7d-d9d9-a9ec-ff7daffb0002","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_54526892", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1025351"} }); ","_id":"00000181-39e9-dedf-ad93-bdeb69610000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedStarbucks is looking for fresh talent from outside the company to lead the coffee giant as it faces a wave of unionization across its thousands of stores.
The company is only interviewing CEO candidates who are not affiliated with Starbucks to fill the role of interim CEO Howard Schultz, he revealed to the Wall Street Journal. Schultz, who took over as chief executive from Kevin Johnson in March, said the goal is to pick a new CEO by this fall and that he would be stepping aside by next spring.
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“For the future of the company, we need a domain of experience and expertise in a number of disciplines that we don’t have now,” Schultz said. “It requires a different type of leader.”
Schultz has also reportedly pushed out some longtime Starbucks employees from prominent leadership positions as part of a broader shake-up. The move comes as the company has grabbed headlines across the country for a growing push for stores to unionize.
The unionization drive has been swift.
The first Starbucks that voted to unionize was a single store in Buffalo, New York, with just over two dozen employees voting in the election. They cited a perceived lack of training, problems with pay, understaffing, and stressful working conditions as factors behind the labor effort.
That vote set off a wave of other union drives at stores across the country. In just months, more than 70 stores in 25 states voted to be represented by a union, according to the National Labor Relations Board. An additional 275 of the company’s 9,000 locations in the United States have petitioned the NLRB for a union vote.
Starbucks contended that part of the reason so many stores are seeking to unionize is that the pandemic caused less direct communication and contact between regional and corporate leadership, which caused relations between the corporation and workers to fray.
Starbucks has pushed back on the unionization effort. The company has repeatedly said it does not oppose the right of its workers to organize but thinks it’s unnecessary given the work environment and that it provides generous benefits, including several medical, vision, and dental plans, as well as discounted company stock.
“We will continue to focus on the best Starbucks experience we can deliver for each other and our customers. We are grateful for each customer who exercised their right to vote, and as we move forward, we will continue to focus on working to exceed the expectations of all our partners and our customers,” a Starbucks spokesman told the Washington Examiner after the first store voted to unionize.
“Independent of the outcome of these elections, we respect the process and will continue to stay true to our mission and values,” he added.
During a call with investors last month, Schultz said that for workers, a “union contract will not come even close to what Starbucks offers.”
After taking over from Johnson, Schultz, in a presumptive effort to stymie the unionization push, pledged to invest $200 million into Starbucks stores and employees. Some of that cash will go toward raising baristas’ hourly wages and training.
Baristas who have been employed by the company for at least two years will receive 5% pay bumps on Aug. 1 as part of the investment plan. Newer employees will see their wages tick up by at least 3%.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Starbucks has had a difficult year. The value of the coffee giant’s stock is down more than 32% since the start of the year, much more than the S&P 500, which has declined by about 14% during that same period of time. Shares have tumbled by 13% since Schultz took over as interim CEO following Johnson’s departure.
Schultz also acknowledged a shift in the company’s sales and the changing tastes of its customers. While Starbucks used to generate much of its business from in-store consumers of traditional hot coffee products, now most of the company’s revenue comes from purchases of cold to-go drinks.
