Starbucks Corp. will boost compensation by as much as 15% for employees in many of its USA stores this year through higher base pay and stock awards.
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Combined, the steps will result in a wage hike of 5-15 percent for all employees at company-operated stores, Starbucks said.
“The range of increase will be determined by geographic and market factors and is meant to ensure Starbucks remains a retail employer of choice in all the markets where we operate”, Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said in the statement. It is the latest major US retailer to raise wages as it tries to fill positions in the face of an improving labor market.
The petition also said employee tips have declined since more customers began paying with Starbucks’ smartphone app. Despite a push for a $15 national minimum wage by Democrats and labor groups, Schultz said he believes minimum wage increases are better done at the local level rather than nationally.
And as with other companies, Starbucks is facing increasing pressure to make schedules for their workers more predictable and reliable.
The company also will double the annual “bean stock” awards, which are shares in Starbucks stock, for partners who reach two years of service with the company.
The raise applies to workers in Starbucks’ 7,600 company-operated stores, but not in the almost 5,000 licensed locations operated by other companies.
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“Howard Schultz did not acknowledge or validate the labor crisis in the stores”, said petition author Jaime Prater, a Los Angeles-area Starbucks barista. Spokesman Reggie Borges said Starbucks does not break out wages but said the company pays above minimum wage in every market. The Seattle company is also implementing “go shop” employee health care coverage starting next week, allowing them to pick and choose from a number of options.
