As More Baristas Unionize, Starbucks Hires Worker-Relations Specialist to Be Strategy Chief

More Starbucks stores have been unionizing, and this has led the company to hire a new strategy chief, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday (April 8).

Six New York state cafes voted last week to join Starbucks Workers United, which was formed to help the first Buffalo locations unionize late last year. The votes were the first since Howard Schultz, the longtime leader of the company, returned Monday as interim CEO.

Schultz has said he’s bringing on Frank Britt as chief strategy officer. Britt was recently CEO of Penn Foster workforce development organization. His career has involved “empowering frontline employees to unlock their full potential,” according to Schultz in a memo.

Schultz called his hiring an “investment in Starbucks’ long-term evolution.”

Starbucks has been seeing a strong thrust of unionization in U.S. stores, with baristas saying their goals are to secure better pay, get better treatment and have a bigger voice in company operations.

Schultz, addressing workers last Monday, said he saw Starbucks as a pro-worker company, and that he never would’ve been able to expand the company if unions had been around.

He said there does “not need someone between us and our people.”

See also: Starbucks CEO Johnson Retires; Schultz Returns for Third Time to Lead Chain

PYMNTS wrote that Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson stepped down after five years, handing the leadership back to Schultz, who was returning for the third time.

Schultz officially took over on April 4. His plan was to stay until a permanent replacement is hired.

Johnson had been picked by Schultz in 2015 to join as chief operating officer, being promoted to CEO two years after that.

“A year ago, I signaled to the Board that as the global pandemic neared an end, I would be considering retirement from Starbucks. I feel this is a natural bookend to my 13 years with the company,” Johnson said.