April 21st: Starbucks Support Day

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Starbucks Gets Over 640, 000 Thanks For Supporting Marriage Equality

Pink News UK reports:

More than 640,000 people have signed a petition to thank coffee giant Starbucks over its support for equal marriage after opponents tried to launch an international boycott.
The number dwarfs the 25,800 who have signed the National Organization for Marriage’s Dump Starbucks pledge to avoid the coffee chain in future over its support for equal access to marriage in the US state of Washington.
SumofUs.org originally said it would deliver a giant ‘thank you’ card to the company’s Seattle headquarters and give executives “moral support to keep standing up for equality” if the petition reached 40,000 signatures, a mark it quickly surpassed.
The card is due to be delivered to executives today.
Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, executive director for SumofUs.org said: “We’ve been stunned by the passionate response to “Thank Starbucks” – our most viral campaign ever.
“We’ve seen in our campaigns that consumers expect corporations to do right by their workers and by their community. We hope that this overwhelming show of support for Starbucks for supporting gay rights will inspire other corporations to keep making similar public statements.”
Zach Silk, Campaign Manager for Washington United for Marriage said: “We knew that people would stand with Starbucks for standing up for marriage equality, but this response is amazing. This kind of consumer support shows why so many Washington companies recognize that all loving, committed couples should have the freedom to marry.
“Washington United for Marriage is a coalition of organizations, congregations, unions, and businesses working together to secure civil marriage for same-sex couples in Washington State.
In January, the Seattle-based hot drink giant said it was “proud” to join other Washington-based employers like Microsoft and Nike in supporting the equal marriage in the state.
The state legislature voted in favour of equal marriage rights for gay couples in February.

Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz Smacks Down NOM

IOWA: Hate Group Leader & Redneck Bob Vander Plaats Invents Fake Starbucks Quotes About Marriage

Of course there is not such source of these quotes.

Starbucks, alongside with many other prominent business in Washington State (including Microsoft) , has stood up for Marriage Equality.

Starbucks Endorses Marriage Equality In Washington State

Towleroad reports:

Starbucks has joined a list of company’s publicly supporting Washington state’s marriage equality bill. The company released a statement yesterday:

• To: U.S. partners
• Date: January 24, 2012
• Re: A Message from Kalen Holmes: Starbucks Supports Marriage Equality
• Dear partners,
• 
  
• Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples. Starbucks strives to create a company culture that puts our partners first, and our company has a lengthy history of leading and supporting policies that promote equality and inclusion.
• 
  
• This important legislation is aligned with Starbucks business practices and upholds our belief in the equal treatment of partners. It is core to who we are and what we value as a company. We are proud of our Pride Alliance Partner Network group, which is one of the largest Employer Resource Groups for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) employees in the U.S., helping to raise awareness about issues in the communities where we live and work.
• 
  
• For the last 20 years, our benefits program has offered domestic partner benefits in the U.S. These benefits include medical, dental, vision, prescription drugs and alternative health care coverage. All partners (part-time and full-time) in all work locations, whether in a store, a roasting plant or a corporate office, adhere to the same eligibility requirements for health coverage and have access to the same comprehensive health plans.
• 
  
• We are deeply dedicated to embracing diversity and treating one another with respect and dignity, and remain committed to providing an inclusive, supportive and safe work environment for all of our partners.
• 
  
• We look forward to seeing this legislation enacted into law.
• 
  
• Regards,
• 
  
• Kalen Holmes
• executive vice president, Partner Resources

Last week, six other Washington-based companys wrote a letter to Governor Chris Gregoire today signaling their support. Microsoft, Nike, Vulcan, RealNetworks, Concur, and GroupHealth wrote a letter reading, “We write you today to show the support of our respective companies for SB 6239 and HB 2516 recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples.”

Google, Microsoft, Starbucks Say DOMA Hurts Business

The Advocate reports:

Top U.S. companies including Google, Microsoft, and Starbucks took the unusual step on Thursday of legally documenting their opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act.

A brief filed in court comes from 70 businesses and organizations that want their voice heard on the constitutionality of DOMA, which bans same-sex marriage from being recognized federally and stops couples married in states such as Massachusetts from having their weddings recognized in less accepting places such as Alabama. 

The companies paint the law as an overburdening government regulation that should be repealed.

Their brief points out that the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is defending DOMA in court on the notion that it imposes “a uniform rule” on whose marriage is recognized. “The perspective of the American employer who must implement DOMA is very different,” the companies state. “Employers are obliged to treat one employee spouse differently from another, when each is married, and each marriage is equally lawful.”

The companies say DOMA “forces” them “to investigate the gender of the spouses of our lawfully married employees and then to single out those employees with a same-sex spouse.” For example, HIPPA laws usually consider marriage a “qualifying event” that automatically enrolls a spouse in an employee’s health insurance. Companies now spend time and money weeding out any gay employees who get married.

If companies don’t want to discriminate, because it hurts their recruiting efforts or they’re just opposed to it in principle, then DOMA causes a bunch of “workarounds” that come with wasteful administrative costs of their own. 

Companies complain that when a same-sex couple legally marries, it requires them “to maintain two sets of books.” That’s because the couple is considered married under state law but not married under federal law. “The double entries ripple through human resources, payroll, and benefits administration,” they write.

Some of the companies have had to pay consultants to jury-rig systems used to track benefits and taxes so they can accommodate the double records. “These dual regimes have spawned an industry of costly compliance specialists,” they complain.

“The burden on the small employer is especially onerous,” the companies point out. Small businesses can’t afford to hire consultants, and “such burdens, standing alone, might chill a smaller employer from employing an otherwise qualified employee because she happens to be married to a same-sex spouse.”

The brief was filed on behalf of the following businesses:

ABT Associates
Aetna, Inc.
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
Alere Inc.
Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
Biogen Idec, Inc.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass., Inc.
Boston Community Capital, Inc.
Boston Medical Center Corp.
Bright Horizons Children’s Centers LLC
Calvert Investments, Inc.
CBS Corporation
The Chubb Corporation
Communispace Corp.
Constellation Energy Group, Inc.
Diageo North America, Inc.
Eastern Bank Corp.
Exelon Corp.
FitCorp Healthcare Centers, Inc.
Gammelgården, LLC
Google Inc.
Integrated Archive Systems, Inc.
Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC
Levi Strauss & Co.
Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Trust, LLC
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Massachusetts Envelope Company, Inc.
Massachusetts Financial Services Company
Microsoft Corp.
National Grid USA, Inc.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
New England Cryogenic Center, Inc.
NIKE, Inc.
The Ogilvy Group, Inc.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Partners HealthCare System, Inc.
Reproductive Science Center of New England
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
Starbucks Corp.
State Street Bank and Trust Co.
Stonyfield Farm, Inc.
Sun Life Financial (U.S.) Services Co., Inc.
Time Warner Cable, Inc.
Trillium Asset Management Corp.
W/S Development Associates LLC
Xerox Corp.
Zipcar, Inc.

Law and professional firms:

Burns & Levinson LLP
Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP
Foley Hoag LLP
Goodwin Proctor LLP
Goulston & Storrs, P.C.
McCarter & English LLP
Nixon Peabody LLP
Parthenon Group LLC
Ropes & Gray LLP
Salera Consulting
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Sullivan & Worcester LLP

Professional, trade and civic organizations:

Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
The Boston Foundation
Massachusetts Association of Health Plans
Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Inc.
The National Fire Protection Association
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
Retailers Association of Massachusetts

And the following cities:

The City of Boston, MA
The City of Cambridge, MA
The City of New York, NY

Starbucks: An Illustrated History Future

It’s freezing here in Vancouver… I’d like one of those.