Poor Farmer

By Angela Moore , MarketWatch Mar 16, 2007 NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Starbucks Corp. will be hosting its shareholder meeting next week, and industry watchers will be looking for reassurance that the coffee-shop operator's growth plans are on track. Starbucks' annual meetings are usually staid affairs, but after a few bumpy weeks recently, an uneventful meeting could help quell investor concerns. "Typically, the shareholders' meeting is not that much of an event from a Wall Street perspective; [executives] talk about the things they've accomplished," Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Ashley Woodruff told MarketWatch on Friday. "What makes it different this year is that there's fear that they might slow their growth rate. People are looking for them to reiterate earnings per-share guidance and long-term growth targets." Seattle-based Starbucks ( SBUX : Starbucks Corp SBUX 30.58, +0.99, +3.3%) has been grappling with two lackluster quarters; compet...

By Florangela Davila, Seattle Times TV writer The Seattle Times Saturday March 17, 2007 " Black Gold ," a documentary about the international coffee trade and its effects on Ethiopian farmers, will be previewed at a public screening at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave. in Seattle. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Cindy Hoots, senior specialist in corporate social responsibility for Starbucks; fair-trade activist Wondwossen Mezlekia ( www.poorfarmer.blogspot.com ); Becky Matter of Fair Trade Puget Sound; and Ethiopian children's book author and illustrator Sultan Mohamed. The film, part of the Independent Television Service, will also air on PBS stations nationwide. The KCTS air date is 11 p.m. April 15. Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

Starbucks Coffee Company will host its 2007 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 in Seattle, Washington at the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. Organizers of the “Workers Unite to Demand Justice from Starbucks” campaign invite the public to join them send a message to the shareholders. Following is their message: ---------------- Baristas At Starbucks Demand Justice The financial reality for Baristas at Starbucks contrasts sharply with the image portrayed by the company. Behind the smiles and green aprons, many Starbucks workers are living in poverty because Starbucks fails to pay a living wage fails to assign baristas regular work schedules. Poverty wages : Baristas starting wages range from $6-$8.75 an hour. In contrast, at Costco, another retailer, workers start at well over $10 an hour. No guaranteed hours : All workers are part-time with no option for full time status. At Costco, workers who want full-time work can get it. Starbucks health...