October 3, 2011
Dear friends, colleagues and leaders,
Several weeks ago we joined together, bound by a shared love of country and commitment to get America moving forward once again.
We dedicated ourselves to draw upon the values, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that have always defined the greatness of America and to do all we could to get Americans back to work and our economy growing again. And we pledged to pressure our elected officials into reversing the destructive patterns of polarization and dysfunction that have become the norm in Washington and damaged our nation at home and our credibility around the world.
Our call for the creation of an upward spiral of confidence has inspired thousands of our fellow citizens to remind elected officials to do what they were sent to Washington to do, to lead – thoughtfully, responsibly and respectfully -- for the good of our country. And it has inspired business leaders from across the country to pledge to do what they could to create jobs.
Some are saying our pledge to withhold campaign contributions is beginning to have its intended effect, and have pointed to speeches and gestures by elected officials in recent weeks as evidence that Washington has heard our voice. I’m not convinced. That’s why we must remain steadfast, keep the pressure on and continuously remind our elected officials of the urgency we know to exist.
At the same time, we must be catalysts for change in our own right and exercise our influence and responsibility as business leaders and entrepreneurs. Waiting for Washington to act is not a plan of action.
Many of you have reached out and shared what you are doing to reverse America’s jobs emergency and accelerate job creation. I’d like to share with you some of what we are doing at Starbucks, and also invite you to join a new initiative that will foster job growth in many of our communities across America that need it most.
First, Starbucks is hiring approximately 200 new partners every day to support our growth plans and in response to normal attrition, equating to more than 3,500 net new jobs in 2011. In addition, in 2012 we plan to remodel 1,700 existing stores and open a net of at least 200 new stores. And within the next 18 months we plan to both expand our existing U.S. roasting and manufacturing plant capacity, and to add a fifth U.S facility. In the aggregate, we expect our FY2012 investments to contribute to more than 2,000 net new direct and indirect part and full-time jobs across the country.
Second, I am delighted to share with you an exciting initiative we are launching on November 1 -- Create Jobs for USA. Create Jobs for USA will help our country and our economy by pooling contributions from Starbucks customers and partners, and channeling 100% of the money raised into a new nationwide fund to support small business lending. Create Jobs for USA starts with the premise that we can help put Americans back to work if we first thaw frozen channels of credit in local communities, enabling small businesses to expand and hire and consumers to spend.
Create Jobs for USA is not charity. It’s not a handout. Instead, it is a peer-to-peer job creation initiative that will draw its power from the millions of Americans who come to Starbucks every day for community and coffee, and who tell us they want to do more for America. Every customer who contributes $5 or more to the fund will receive a limited-edition red, white, and blue wristband with the word ‘Indivisible’ on the clasp, demonstrating that we’re all in this together. Starbucks will be partnering with the Opportunity Finance Network, a nationally recognized and respected nonprofit organization to make sure that all funds raised are directed to businesses and organizations that will hire in local communities across America. The Starbucks Foundation will be seeding the fund with a $5 million contribution.
We will be announcing more details about the Create Jobs for USA initiative soon but I wanted to share the outlines of the plan with you and invite you to join the effort. I would also encourage you to share your own ideas for boosting job creation at www.upwardspiral2011.org and to join the Create Jobs for USA initiative at www.createjobsforusa.org.
It’s time to remember that we is always greater than me and that there is no greater force on earth than the will of the American people. Let’s pull together. Let’s pull our neighbors, our friends and our fellow Americans into opportunity with us. And let’s get to work.
With gratitude,
Howard Schultz
Chief Executive Officer, Starbucks Coffee Company
September 1, 2011
Dear Fellow Concerned Americans:
And I am a beneficiary of the promise of America. But today, I am very concerned that at times I do not recognize the America that I love.
Like so many of you, I am deeply disappointed by the pervasive failure of leadership in Washington. And also like you, I am frustrated by our political leaders’ steadfast refusal to recognize that, for every day they perpetuate partisan conflict and put ideology over country, America and Americans suffer from the combined effects of paralysis and uncertainty. Americans can’t find jobs. Small businesses can’t get credit. And the fracturing of consumer confidence continues.
We are better than this.
Three weeks ago, I asked fellow business leaders to join me in urging the President and the Congress to put an end to partisan gridlock and, in its place, to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. More than 100 business leaders representing American companies – large and small – joined me in signing a two-part pledge:
First, to withhold political campaign contributions until a transparent, comprehensive, bipartisan debt-and-deficit package is reached that honestly, and fairly, sets America on a path to long-term financial health and security. Second, to do all we can to break the cycle of economic uncertainty that grips our country by committing to accelerate investment in jobs and hiring.
In the weeks since then, I have been overwhelmed by the heartfelt stories of Americans from across the country, sharing their anguish over losing hope in the strongest and most galvanizing force of all – the American Dream. Some feel they have no voice. Others feel they no longer matter. And many feel they have been left behind.
We cannot let this stand.
Please join other concerned Americans and me on a national call-in conversation on Tuesday September 6th hosted by “No Labels,” a nonpartisan organization dedicated to fostering cooperative and more effective government. To learn more about the forum and the pledges, visit www.upwardspiral2011.org
America is at a fragile and critical moment in its history. We must restore hope in the American Dream. We must celebrate all that America stands for around the world. And while our Founding Fathers recognized the constructive value of political debate, we must send the message to today’s elected officials in a civil, respectful voice they hear and understand, that the time to put citizenship ahead of partisanship is now.
Yours is the voice that can help ignite the contagious upward spiral of confidence that our country desperately needs.
With great respect,
Howard Schultz
Chief Executive Officer, Starbucks Coffee Company
August 15, 2011
Dear Fellow Concerned Americans:
Over the last few weeks and months, our national elected officials from both parties have failed to lead. They have chosen to put partisan and ideological purity over the well-being of the people. They have undermined the full faith and credit of the United States. They have stirred up fears about our economic prospects without doing anything to truly address those fears. They have spent a resource even more precious than the dollar: our collective confidence in each other, in the future, and in our ability to solve problems together.
As leaders in business, we have watched all this unfold, first with frustration and then with dismay. Like so many of our employees and customers, we are gravely concerned about the current situation. Today, with both humility and urgency, we propose to do something about it.
First, we aim to push our elected leaders to face the nation's long-term fiscal challenges with civility, honesty, and a willingness to sacrifice their own re-election. This means not kicking the can anymore. It means reaching a deal on debt, revenue, and spending long before the deadline arrives this fall. It means considering all options, from entitlement programs to taxes.
This is what so many common-sense Americans want. That is why we today pledge to withhold any further campaign contributions to the President and all members of Congress until a fair, bipartisan deal is reached that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing. And we invite leaders of businesses – indeed, all concerned Americans – to join us in this pledge.
We also believe in leading by positive example. And we believe that while the long-term fiscal challenge is serious, even more painful to millions of Americans today is the immediate crisis of jobs. Tens of millions are unemployed and underemployed. Right now our economy is frozen in a cycle of fear and uncertainty. Companies are afraid to hire. Consumers are afraid to spend. Banks are afraid to lend. Record levels of cash are piling up in corporate treasuries, idling. That cash is not being used to expand operations, train new workers, underwrite new ventures, or spark innovation.
The only way to break this cycle of fear is to break it. The only way to get the country’s economic circulatory system flowing again is to start pumping lifeblood through it. That is why we today issue a second pledge. Our companies are going to hire. We are going to accelerate growth, employment, and investment in jobs.
We do this because we want to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. We are not waiting for government to create an incentive program or a stimulus. We are not waiting for economic indicators to tell us it’s safe to act. We are hiring more people now. We invite leaders of businesses across the country to join us in this pledge as well – and to bring their stakeholders into the effort. Confidence is contagious. The best thing we can do now is to spread it.
This is a time for citizenship, not partisanship. It is a time for action. We don't pretend that our two pledges are quick fixes. We just believe that in this moment of great uncertainty, the government needs discipline, the people need jobs – and leaders need to lead.
Our country is better than this. Let’s get things moving now.
Respectfully,
Howard Schultz