Starbucks declined to make interim CEO Howard Schultz available to testify before Congress next month, according to a letter sent by Starbucks' general counsel Zabrina Jenkins on Tuesday.
Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders and 10 other Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions demanded that Schultz testify in the March 9 session regarding Starbucks' compliance with federal labor laws. Sanders, who chairs the committee, warned that he would subpoena Schultz if the CEO ignored or refused the invitation.
Starbucks' letter argued that Schultz will transition out of the CEO job next month and will not have any operating roles, making him less suited to address labor matters at the hearing.
