"[Starbucks] is estimated to have spent some $240 million on union busting. It’s even more appalling given that the new CEO, since starting in September, has been paid approximately $96 million and commutes to work from Southern California to Seattle on a company jet. He’s being paid 10,000 times what the average worker is making: around $30,000 a year for a barista."
#NathanJRobinson, 2025
https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/starbucks-is-everything-wrong-with-american-capitalism
10,000 times $30k would be $300m and not $98m. Have I missed something there? Is the $98m only part of his salary?
Yes, the dates involved;
"... the new CEO, since starting in September, has been paid approximately $96 million ..."
The article was published on 5 Feb. So if we assume he started in late September, that's what he got paid for about 4 months. Multiply by 3 to get an annual salary.
But really the idea of paying a CEO $96 million a year when the lowest paid workers are on $30k is equally absurd. In many countries this pay gap would be illegal.
And completely agree, even if it was "only" $98m, a 3,000x multiple of the workers' salary would also be entirely unacceptable!
And the kicker - the coffee tastes like crap.
This becomes undeniable if you order a long black. It's a super dark roast so without sugary (either from milk or added), it tastes like burnt hair.
I certainly won't be in future. I got into a lazy habit of it when I was living in China, because only the 3 big chains (SB, Costa and Pacific) reliably had plant milk. They were also *everywhere*, and reliably a calm, comfortable place to sit for a while, while coping with the latest waves of culture shock.
I have been getting coffee there occasionally since, out of nostalgia, but no more.
I can't stand the sickly-sweet milky smell in NZ Starbucks anyway. The ones in China had a much more neutral odour.
Did you know that unions are extortionists and exploiters? That they always want wages and other benefits above market rates? That the main victims are consumers and workers who are not union members?
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