But future wage increases are coming. He said it would not necessarily apply to workers in union stores.
“Today, we are taking further steps to update our vision for wages and benefits for our partners with more investments in wages…and in September, we will share additional initiatives we plan with Starbucks partners,” he said.
Schultz said the company will invest $200 million in wages, equipment and training, among other benefits, in addition to previously announced commitments. Overall, Starbucks plans to spend about $1 billion this fiscal year on employees and improving the customer experience in stores.
But he said, “We do not have the same freedom to make these improvements in locations where there is a union or where unions are organized,” adding that federal law “prohibit us from introducing new wages and benefits in stores involved in union organizing.”
This is just a small part of the approximately 8,800 websites owned by the US company. But Starbucks is keen to stem the flow.
Schultz, who last month took over as CEO for a third time, acknowledged that workers face “enormous pressures” as demand grows. Sales at company-owned stores in North America that have opened for at least 13 months jumped 12% in the three months ending April 3. Revenue jumped 17% in the region in the quarter. The company’s stock jumped about 5% hours after the results came out.
To help, the company offers more support in addition to this higher salary. Some examples: Starting next month, you will double the amount of training time for new baristas. In August, he’ll do the same for shift moderators. It’s also launching an employee app to keep workers connected.
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