Starbucks sponsors Republican National Convention

Starbucks is one of several sponsors funding the Republican National Convention (RNC) this week.

According to the Milwaukee Host Committee, Starbucks is among a group of partners that has pledged support for the convention, which kicked off Monday.

The group also includes The Heritage Foundation, General Motors, Turning Point USA, among others. It was first reported by Sludge.

Last month, the Supreme Court sided with Starbucks in a ruling. The ruling makes it more difficult for the federal government to win court orders when it suspects a company of interfering in the unionization process.

The case stemmed from a labor dispute with Starbucks, who fired seven workers in Memphis for engaging in efforts to unionize. The high court threw out a lower court’s ruling that said the employees should be reinstated.

Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, publicly endorsed President Biden ahead of the 2020 presidential election after mulling an independent bid of his own. Schultz stressed the importance of democracy and voting in the last election.

Schultz testified in 2023 before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee over its union-busting efforts.

The coffee company’s current CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, took over in March 2023. Narasimhan pledged to work as a barista in stores across the country once a month as part of his leadership.

The company’s revenue fell by two percent in the first quarter of 2024 and Schultz stressed the need for his successors and Starbucks to get back to the basics.