Bachmann flubs Elvis Presley's birthday
Obama: Perry has to be 'more careful' with his words

Starbucks CEO urges boycott of campaign money

By Catalina Camia, USA TODAY
Updated

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has had it with politicians in Washington and is venting his frustration by closing his checkbook.

The leader of the giant coffee chain is urging fellow business leaders to join him in withholding campaign donations to President Obama and members of Congress.

Schultz sent a letter to fellow business leaders, asking them to join his two-prong pledge to boycott political donations and to do more hiring to "get the country's economic circulatory system flowing again." The letter was sent to companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

The idea is to withhold campaign contributions until Obama and Congress reach "a fair, bipartisan deal that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing," the Starbucks chief says in his letter, which went out Monday.

Democracy 21, a watchdog group, is supporting Schultz's effort. So is Bob Greifeld, CEO of Nasdaq OMX Group, who wrote an e-mail to companies listed on that the Nasdaq exchange that Schultz "can count on me."

Schultz has given more than $102,000 primarily to Democratic committees and candidates since the mid-1990s, according to a search of campaign donations through the Center for Responsive Politics website.

Obama, Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and the Democratic National Committee have been among the recipients of Schultz's previous contributions.

Starbucks, which turned 40 in March, is the world's largest coffee chain with 17,000 locations in 55 countries. Company spokeswoman Stacey Krum told The Seattle Timesthat the company expects to hire 70,000 people in the United States in the next six to 12 months.

The campaign donations boycott was first reported by columnist Joe Nocera of The New York Times.

PREVIOUS
Bachmann flubs Elvis Presley's birthday
NEXT
Obama: Perry has to be 'more careful' with his words
To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.