*** MEDIA ADVISORY FOR JANUARY 24, 2012 ***Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org
Starbucks CEO pushing bitter budget-cut brew
Customers & community members call on CEO to "fix the greed"
Concerned Starbucks customers and community members will descend on one of the coffee chain's busiest downtown Seattle locations today to spread the word about the all-greed agenda that CEO Howard Schultz and his fellow big-bucks executives are pushing in Congress.
Schultz has left an especially bitter taste in many mouths by requiring baristas in some stores to write his pro-CEO political slogans on coffee cups — effectively issuing an executive order that turns employees and customers into political billboards for the 1% agenda.
The truth beneath the sloganeering is that the Starbucks CEO and his 1% allies are pushing for a budget plan that lowers tax rates on big corporations and the ultra-rich … and pays for it with deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other vital government services. They say they want to "fix the debt" — but what really needs fixing is their greed.
When: TODAY - Wednesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:00 am
Where: Starbucks Coffee at First & Pike in downtown Seattle
What: Starbucks customers and community members spread the word about CEO Howard Schultz's agenda in Congress by handing out stickers reading "Budget cuts are bitter brew" and leaflets declaring "Let them drink dregs!".
Starbucks is considered an icon of Seattle, but the agenda their CEO is pushing doesn't reflect our community's values. We voted for jobs, not cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. We voted to close corporate loopholes, not create new ones. And we voted to make sure the rich pay their fair share, not lower their tax rates. That's why many customers and community members are outraged that Schultz has come together with dozens of other ultra-wealthy CEOs like Jamie Dimon of Chase Bank and Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs to peddle the same old trickle-down brew in Congress.
Today's outreach event comes less than a week before a January 30th rally at Starbucks Global Headquarters in SoDo, where customers and community members will urge Schultz to stop peddling the bitter brew of the 1% to our community, our Congress, or our baristas.
Working Washington is bringing people together to fight for a fair economy. We are speaking out to demand that our political leaders do what it takes to invest in good jobs and move the economy forward. We need good jobs — not cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other vital services. For more information, visit WorkingWA.org
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