Starbucks' CEO perks up for minimum wage hike
The java giant's Howard Schultz says he's open to the boost, but he can see why other businesses may not be so supportive.
Starbucks (SBUX) Chief Executive Howard Schultz is a political mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a thermal coffee-cup sleeve.
The java chain's leader told CNBC on Wednesday, "On balance, I am a supporter of the minimum wage going up," but he noted that other employers might be scared away from hiring new workers if that happened. President Barack Obama has proposed raising the minimum wage to $9 per hour from $7.25 and tying it to inflation. Conservatives including House Speaker House John Boehner (R-Ohio) argue that such a hike would stifle hiring.
Schultz's measured support for a minimum wage hike leaves his stance as cloudy as a latte, but that's basically how the man operates. While his company gained a reputation for offering health care to beleaguered baristas and earned him a trip to the White House to discuss health care reform, Schultz told The Seattle Times two years ago that he wasn't a fan of the new health care law because "the pressure on small businesses, because of the mandate, is too great."
The same year, Schultz organized 100 fellow CEOs in a pledge to stop campaign contributions until Washington came up with a plan to fix the nation's debt. Not only did the U.S. wind up with the current sequester cuts, but the pledge also proved a hollow threat as Starbucks board members on Wednesday roundly rejected a shareholder's proposal to ban company political contributions and keep it from forming a political action committee.
Schultz's entire political ideology seems based on a notion that's just starting to gain steam in some circles: Other people out there think differently than he does. For example, Schultz is fully aware that the average Starbucks barista makes $8.78 an hour, according to Glassdoor.com. That's lower than President Obama's proposal but doesn't include tips or boosts in their salaries over time.
However, instead of just ramming the idea down the throat of folks like Subway CEO Fred DeLuca, who told CNBC last month that a minimum wage hike would increase prices at his sandwich chain's outlets, Schultz just recognizes that other businesses may not be so keen on the idea. How novel.
That, of course, doesn't mean he doesn't have supporters. Washington state neighbor and Costco (COST) Chief Executive Craig Jelinek not only wants a minimum wage hike, but he would like to see it boosted to $10 to give everyone else a taste of Costco's successful employee-first business model.
The business world clearly isn't ready for that, but leave it to the chief of a company that got America to drink coffee in sippy cups to realize that smaller, slower changes might make less of a mess.
It is really tragic for our CEO's to be thinking about the minimum wage. Don't CEO's want to feel proud of the amount of money their employee's make. Don't they want the children of their employees to have the basic necessities to live a happy life. How could their employees be happy if their children are not getting the basic necessities. There is really only one reason for any company to even exist. To provide
the financial security necessary for the owner's basic needs. Anything above that is gravy. If any company pays any employee less than what is required to meet their basic needs, then they are ignoring the very basic reason they themselves work at the business. If that owner makes any money above their basic needs, and don't pay a living wage to the employee, they are not only wrong, but are
contributing to the in-adequacies of the our country. An owner must be proud of the wages they pay to their employees. That is the standard for any owner. Anything less is unacceptable.
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
RECENT POSTS
Tired of constantly dying batteries, she came up with a device that could revolutionize energy storage -- and won $50,000 from Intel.
- Detroit in hot water over proposal to sell art
- Sears spirals toward oblivion
- Why aren't heads rolling at the IRS?
- Do we pay attention to roads and bridges now?
- Yahoo may be going after Hulu
- Apple's first computer could fetch $450,000
- AT&T adds sneaky fee onto its wireless bills
- Soaring ER use adds more pain to health costs
- Netflix gets 'Arrested Development' stars cheap
MARKET UPDATE
[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks entered the weekend on a mixed note as the S&P 500 shed 0.1% while the Dow ended with a gain of 0.1%.
The major averages began the day on a lower note as nine of ten sectors saw losses of more than 0.5%.
The consumer staples sector was the lone exception as the group spent the entire day in positive territory thanks to the relative strength of Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG 81.89, +3.19). The second-largest staple stock advanced ... More
More Market News
TOP STOCKS
Try as the bears might, they couldn't break U.S. stocks. But investors still face frothy prices and considerable headwinds.
MSN MONEY'S
- Shared
- Commented
- Viewed
