Starbucks customers to "roast" CEO for brewing bitter budget cuts while collecting 80% raise

*** MEDIA ADVISORY for January 30, 2013 ***Contact: Sage Wilson, Working Washington: sage@workingwa.org

Event at corporate headquarters to expose CEO Howard Schultz's active support of tax cuts for the rich, budget cuts for the rest of us

what-the-frackuccinoWEDNESDAY 1/30 in SEATTLE – As budget negotiations continue in Congress, concerned Starbucks customers and community members will gather at the coffee chain's global headquarters to "roast" Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz over his support for the all-greed agenda of the deep-pocketed corporate front group known as "Fix the Debt".

The event comes just days after the company announced an 80% raise for Schultz, boosting his pay to $28.9 million. That's a latte money — and another reason why protestors will Venti our frustrations and espress our concerns about the fact that instead of simply paying his fair share, he continues to come together with other CEOs to demand Congress give still more to those who already have so much... and pay for it by cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

Who: Starbucks customers and community members concerned about the impact of budget cuts being pushed by the CEO

What/Visuals: Gather at Starbucks corporate headquarters to "roast" CEO Howard Schultz with coffee-themed messages about the need for jobs not cuts. Three-foot-tall coffee cup reading"Budget cuts are bitter brew" will expose Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's support for cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. (Some sample messages listed below — this will be a latte fun.)

When: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 10:00 am

Where: Starbucks Coffee Global Headquarters: First & Lander in SoDo. (GPS address is 2401 Utah Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98134)

Howard Schultz is among the most prominent of the dozens of CEOs who have come together under the banner of "Fix the Debt" to press Congress to extract deep cuts to vital government services. Schultz left an especially bitter taste in many mouths by requiring baristas in some stores to write his political slogans on coffee cups — an executive order that effectively turns employees and customers into political billboards for the CEO agenda.

His "Come Together" slogan may sound thin and watered-down — but it's actually robust cover for a set of priorities that could only be dreamed up by CEOs coming together. The all-greed agenda behind the sloganeering amounts to a plan to lower tax rates on big corporations and the ultra-rich... and pay for it with deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and other vital government services.

Schultz and his CEO buddies say they want to "fix the debt" — but what really needs fixing is their greed.

Wednesday’s rally at Starbucks Global Headquarters is one of more than 50 events in cities nationwide that are kicking off a month of robust activity as the March 1st deadline for Congress to prevent the automatic “sequestration” cuts approaches. In a second phase of our day of action for jobs not cuts here in Seattle, local residents will rally at the downtown Wells Fargo at 12 noon to call attention to corporate tax dodging.

The 99% have a latte fun "roasting" Howard Schultz:

In less than week, Working Washington supporters have sent in nearly 300 messages to deliver to Schultz about his priorities, his agenda, and his company. Many of these messages will be written on cups to be delivered to the company. Highlights include:

  • "What the frackuccino?!"
  • "It takes a latte nerve"
  • "CEO's brewing trouble"
  • "Stop dripping out budget cuts"
  • "Wake up & smell the agenda"
  • "Robust resistance to CEO tax breaks"
  • "Budget cuts are bitter brew"

More information:

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 our communities 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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