Shareholder Proposal Requesting Re-establishment of Environment, Partner and Community Impact Committee

RESOLVED: Shareholders request the Board of Directors to re-establish the Environment, Partner, and Community Impact Committee (Committee) composed of independent directors with responsibilities to include overseeing policies and practices related to labor relations.

In 2023, a majority of shareholders adopted a proposal calling for an assessment of Starbucks’ adherence to its stated commitment to workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights and the board subsequently established the Committee.

Much of a board’s work on complex, dynamic issues occur at the committee level. As the National Association of Corporate Directors noted in its Future of the American Board framework,  “committees are the engine of the American board and that good governance begins at the committee level.”

The Committee’s 2023 charter stated that “The Committee monitors the Company’s environmental, partner, community, customer, and farmer promises and oversees policies and practices related to such promises.” Critically, its first specific responsibility was to “Oversee policies and practices related to labor relations.”

In November 2025, the Board dissolved the Committee, spread its responsibilities across other committees, and returned primary responsibility for labor matters back to the full board.

We believe that returning labor relations oversight to the full Board at the same time authority has been consolidated in a combined CEO-Chair, risks diluting the intensity, depth, continuity, and independence of Board oversight over one of the Company’s most significant and persistent risk areas, creating a potential gap in independent oversight, transparency, and accountability.

This is particularly concerning given ongoing significant unfair labor practice allegations, the unresolved 5-year collective bargaining process, and heightened public, regulatory, and shareholder scrutiny.

Starbucks’ 2025 Annual Report states that labor relations are a material risk and: “have the potential to negatively impact our operations … our sales and customer flow … and … our reputation and brand.”

While the first stores organized a union in 2021, there is still no finalized contract despite reports that 700 stores and 15,000+ baristas have voted to unionize.

In late 2025, more than 100 lawmakers alleged that Starbucks engaged in “union-busting” activities and urged it to resume negotiations. In 2026, independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council sent letters to Starbucks and the U.S. government requesting responses to allegations of unfair labor practices. Starbucks is reported to face almost 600 open Unfair Labor Practice charges, including at least 50 filed so far in 2026.

By reestablishing the Committee, we believe that Starbucks could provide more effective oversight, mitigate risks stemming from its workforce management, and protect shareholder value.