Starbucks CEO Told Christian Shareholders To Buy Stocks Elsewhere- Fiction!

Starbucks CEO Told Christian Shareholders To Buy Stocks Elsewhere- Fiction!

 
Summary of eRumor:

This is a forwarded email that says Howard Schultz, the Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks, told shareholders that if they did not like the company’s stance on gay marriage they are welcome to find another company to invests their money.

The Truth:
Howard Schultz, the Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks, told shareholders that if they could find a better return on their investment that they are welcome to “buy shares in another company” but from the transcript and video it is not evident that he was targeting Christians in his statement.  This according to a March 24, 2013 article in The Blaze.
The article said that during his shareholder address in Seattle, Washington on March 20, 2013 Schultz told all present that the company employs “200,000 people, and we want to embrace diversity. Of all kinds.”   Schultz told stockholders, “If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38% you got last year, it’s a free country.”  He added,  “You can sell your shares in Starbucks and buy shares in another company.”
The article said that the statement came after the CEO was asked by the founder of Corporate Morality Action Center, Thomas Strobhar, if Starbucks might want to backtrack on their gay marriage stance after a recent boycott by the National Organization for Marriage.
According to the Corporate Morality Action Center website, Stobhar established his organization to “address the great ethical issues of our day, especially as they apply to one of the most influential groups in our culture, corporations. Issues like abortion, the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman, and pornography are all affected by the actions of corporations and their owners, the shareholders.”
https://youtu.be/OaCfvr9EFKs


Video found on YouTube

Posted 03/29/13