<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000902664-24-000844.txt : 20240131
<SEC-HEADER>0000902664-24-000844.hdr.sgml : 20240131
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20240131170017
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000902664-24-000844
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	DFAN14A
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20240131
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20240131

SUBJECT COMPANY:	

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			STARBUCKS CORP
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000829224
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	RETAIL-EATING & DRINKING PLACES [5810]
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	07 Trade & Services
		IRS NUMBER:				911325671
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			WA
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0927

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		DFAN14A
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	000-20322
		FILM NUMBER:		24583770

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		P O BOX 34067
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98124-1067
		BUSINESS PHONE:		2064471575

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		2401 UTAH AVENUE SOUTH
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98134

FILED BY:		

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Strategic Organizing Center
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0002001721
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	
		IRS NUMBER:				203688367
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DC
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		DFAN14A

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1900 L STREET, NW
		STREET 2:		SUITE 900
		CITY:			WASHINGTON
		STATE:			DC
		ZIP:			20036
		BUSINESS PHONE:		(202) 721-0660

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1900 L STREET, NW
		STREET 2:		SUITE 900
		CITY:			WASHINGTON
		STATE:			DC
		ZIP:			20036
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>DFAN14A
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>p24-0548dfan14a.htm
<DESCRIPTION>STARBUCKS CORP
<TEXT>
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<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center">SCHEDULE 14A</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center">Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a)</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center">of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Filed
by the Registrant </FONT><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings">&#168;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif">Filed
by a Party other than the Registrant </FONT><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings">&#254;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify">Check the appropriate box:</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

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    <TD STYLE="width: 93%; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 107%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%">Preliminary Proxy Statement</FONT></TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 107%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%">&#168;</FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 107%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%">Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))</FONT></TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 107%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%">&#168;</FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 107%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%">Definitive Proxy Statement</FONT></TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 107%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%">&#254;</FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 107%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%">Definitive Additional Materials</FONT></TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 107%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%">&#168;</FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 107%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%">Soliciting Material Under Rule 14a-12</FONT></TD></TR>
  </TABLE>
<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 22pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>Starbucks Corporation</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center">(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>Strategic Organizing Center</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>Service Employees International Union</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>Mary Kay Henry</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>Ahmer Qadeer</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>Michael Zucker</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>Maria Echaveste</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>Joshua Gotbaum</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>Wilma B. Liebman</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center">(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if
other than the Registrant)</P>


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<P STYLE="font: 10pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply):</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt/85% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

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    <TD STYLE="width: 93%; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-bottom: 8pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 85%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 85%">No fee required.</FONT></TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-bottom: 8pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 85%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 85%">&#168;</FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-bottom: 8pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 85%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 85%">Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.</FONT></TD></TR>
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    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-bottom: 8pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 85%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 85%">&#168;</FONT></TD>
    <TD STYLE="padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-bottom: 8pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; line-height: 85%"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Times New Roman, Times, Serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 85%">Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a6(i)(1) and 0-11.</FONT></TD></TR>
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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 12pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">&nbsp;</P>


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<P STYLE="font: 11pt Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0; text-align: center">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify; background-color: #FEFEFE">From time to time, the
Strategic Organizing Center may make the following communications, or substantially similar variations thereon, to shareholders of Starbucks
Corporation via the Strategic Organizing Center&rsquo;s social media channels and may refer to the attached article from the Financial
Times.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify; background-color: #FEFEFE">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify; background-color: #FEFEFE">---</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">The @Financial Times recently covered our campaign at @Starbucks
to improve oversight of the Company's human capital management approach by installing highly qualified directors - @Maria Echaveste, Hon.
@Joshua Gotbaum and @Wilma Liebman. Read more here: https://bit.ly/SOCBoardroomBattle. #BrewABetterStarbucks</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; text-align: justify; background-color: #FEFEFE">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">@Starbucks shareholders: Protect your investment by installing
directors with fresh perspectives and the right expertise to help improve oversight and chart a better path for all Starbucks stakeholders.
Vote for the SOC&rsquo;s highly qualified nominees TODAY by calling (877) 285-5990. Visit www.BrewABetterStarbucks.com to learn more about
our campaign. #BrewABetterStarbucks</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">---</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0"><B>How unions are fighting a boardroom battle at Starbucks</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0"><B>Financial Times</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0"><B>By Ortenca Aliaj and Patrick Temple-West</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0"><B>January 24, 2024</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0"><I>An SEC rule change giving shareholders more power to exert influence
threatens to shake up corporate governance in the US</I></P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">There is a famous story about Starbucks that is often cited during
discussions of governance: at board meetings, there is an empty chair to represent the interests of the coffee giant&rsquo;s employees.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The idea was proposed by its former chief executive Howard Schultz
to show that the company&rsquo;s baristas have a symbolic seat at the table.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">But that token gesture is on the verge of becoming a reality. A group
of trade unions is mounting a serious proxy fight that could put a trio of directors on Starbucks&rsquo; board to be a voice for its rank
and file.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">It is a remarkable turn of events for the coffeemaker, which has long
marketed itself as one of the most worker-friendly environments in corporate America.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Starbucks is famed for offering its workers the kind of benefits that
are often out of reach for low-income employees in the service industry, such as college tuition, generous health insurance and stock
options.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">That goodwill has been tainted as Starbucks cracked down on unionisation
efforts by its employees, which began two years ago in Buffalo, New York, with demands for better pay and more consistent shift patterns.
The company denies union busting.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Now Starbucks is the target of an unprecedented attempt by trade unions
to bring the fight directly to a company&rsquo;s boardroom.</P>


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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The challenger is not the brash, aggressive activist investor that
typically wages these kinds of campaigns. It is a coalition of trade unions, the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), seeking to address
the &ldquo;severe human capital mismanagement&rdquo; it claims is hurting the company&rsquo;s business.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">For those reasons, the Starbucks boardroom battle is set to become
one of the most closely watched on Wall Street.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;I do think this is the campaign we have been waiting for and
worried about,&rdquo; says one adviser to large public companies. &ldquo;Single-issue activists advancing a social agenda.&rdquo;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The showdown is the result of two forces that have converged in recent
years. The first is a resurgent organised labour movement in America, riding a wave of success after Hollywood writers and actors secured
new labour deals with studios while autoworkers went on strike at carmakers and ultimately won higher pay.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The other, more crucial, factor is a simplification of the esoteric
rules that determine how public companies elect directors.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The Washington-based SOC, chaired by Mary Kay Henry, is a group that
includes the 2mn-member Service Employees International Union. It has previously tackled businesses through shareholder proposals, non-binding
petitions that religious groups and other activists use to agitate for change. But these can be easily shrugged off by corporate management.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Instead, the SOC is relying on an obscure rule change at the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pursue a shareholder activism campaign and put forward its own slate of nominees at the company&rsquo;s
annual meeting to be held on March 13.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">For Wall Street, this has led to a war on two fronts. Not only must
companies contend with challenges from the traditional hedge funds, which have long stalked their decision-making, they must also prepare
themselves for proxy fights from outfits seeking to reshape their social agendas.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Disney, for example, is facing a conventional campaign led by activist
investor Nelson Peltz as well as a more radical one from a smaller investor, with a minor stake, which has stormed in with its own board
nominations.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">There is a strong view within Disney that both are being driven by
a backlash against so-called &ldquo;woke&rdquo; politics, after conservative politicians, including Florida governor Ron DeSantis, accused
the company of pursuing a progressive social agenda.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">What binds together the fights inside these two giants of corporate
America, says one person close to the Disney campaign, is &ldquo;these are proxy fights in name [but] they are &lsquo;proxy proxy fights&rsquo;
&mdash; battles for other challenges in the world&rdquo;.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Either way, their respective outcomes suggests the beginning of a
dramatic reshaping of public company corporate governance.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>


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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The seeds of the Starbucks showdown were planted in a windowless conference
room in the basement of the SEC in February 2015.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The SEC&rsquo;s investor advisory committee were meeting to discuss
the consequences of amending US shareholder voting rules, after big pension funds such as the behemoth Calpers had pushed for changes
to give more power to shareholders.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">With Democrats in charge during the Obama administration, investors
felt they had a receptive audience.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The speakers included David Katz, a partner at New York law firm Wachtell,
Lipton, Rosen &amp; Katz, which has a reputation for representing companies against shareholder activists. He sparred at the meeting with
Charlie Penner, an activist investor who would become the mastermind behind Engine No. 1&rsquo;s unprecedented victory at ExxonMobil in
2021.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Katz urged against rule changes that would permit so-called &ldquo;universal
proxy&rdquo; voting. Shareholders at the time were unable to vote for a mixture of company nominees and activist nominees in contested
elections unless they did so in person at the annual meeting. Otherwise, they would have to choose a full slate from one or the other.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">However, universal proxy voting would allow shareholders to pick and
choose board directors, the so-called &agrave; la carte option, without having to travel &ldquo;around the country&rdquo;, Calpers said.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Katz argued that if all board candidates appeared on a single ballot
and it became easier to elect board directors, then there could be less incentive for activists to settle with companies. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m
concerned about more fights, more contests, that&rsquo;s a distraction,&rdquo; he said.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Penner, then partner and chief legal officer at hedge fund Jana Partners,
disagreed, arguing that adopting universal proxy would not create &ldquo;a flood&rdquo; of activism.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Ultimately, the SEC sided with the pension funds &mdash; though it
would take until 2021, when Democrats were back in power after the Trump presidency, for universal proxy changes to be finalised.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Conservatives were aghast. Republican SEC commissioner Hester Peirce
worried that it was too easy for frivolous activists to get board nominees on a company&rsquo;s ballot. An investor passionate about issues
involving bees, she argued, would have leverage to demand companies &ldquo;put beehives on the roof of each office building&rdquo;.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">For those who advise companies how to defend against activism, the
SOC&rsquo;s campaign at Starbucks is vindication of prior warnings that universal proxy would turn boardroom challenges into the wild
west.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;It&rsquo;s exactly the type of scenario we had worried about
when the rules were first proposed and finalised,&rdquo; says one prominent shareholder advisory lawyer. &ldquo;People thought defence
advisers overhyped everything but this is the first real test case.&rdquo;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0"></P>


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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Activism is now more easily accessible. Typically, activists who want
to wield influence buy chunky stakes in public companies because it gives them more leverage when they are pushing for changes to lift
the share price.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">For example, Carl Icahn, a veteran activist investor who last year
won a board seat for one of his nominees at gene-sequencing group Illumina in the first significant proxy battle to play out under the
new rules, owned a stake of more than $400mn in a company then worth approximately $30bn.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">By comparison, the SOC, through its investment group, owns just $16,000
worth of shares in Starbucks, a company whose market capitalisation tops $100bn.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;They have virtually no economic stake and yet they have this
tool because of universal proxy, they don&rsquo;t have to spend a ton of money on solicitation costs,&rdquo; says the lawyer. &ldquo;They
can piggyback on the company&rsquo;s proxy.&rdquo;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">In response to such criticisms, the SOC says that its economic interest
is the almost two and a half million employees it represents, and the pension fund with which it is affiliated, who also hold stakes in
Starbucks.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very novel campaign,&rdquo; says Tejal Patel,
executive director of the SOC Investment Group. &ldquo;While some may consider it to be a single issue, [the treatment of employees] is
a really important issue for Starbucks. How this all impacts its brand is a serious issue the company is facing.&rdquo;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">There have been a handful of other single-issue campaigns in recent
years &mdash; including Icahn&rsquo;s bid to win a board seat at McDonald&rsquo;s over the fast food giant&rsquo;s treatment of pregnant
pigs and an attempt by a former Warner Music executive to nominate herself to the board after alleging a culture of sexual harassment
&mdash; but neither were successful.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The SOC more closely aligns its position with that of Engine No. 1
at Exxon, which three years ago won three board seats at the oil major in a stunning victory that shook Wall Street. The tiny hedge fund,
with just a 0.02 per cent stake in the company, ran a highly orchestrated campaign by rallying large Exxon shareholders who also wanted
it to take climate change seriously.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;Part of the similarity here is that there is in each campaign
an ESG [environmental, social, governance] focus that some can identify but there is also a focus on significant risk to shareholder value,&rdquo;
says Bruce Goldfarb, founder of proxy solicitation firm Okapi Partners, which is working on behalf of the SOC. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what
makes these campaigns potentially successful.&rdquo;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Still, much of the SOC&rsquo;s success will depend on whether it can
persuade other shareholders to support the narrative that poor relations with employees will damage Starbucks&rsquo; share price in the
long run and that the solution requires labour representatives in the boardroom.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;The company has mishandled the labour issues for over two years&#8201;.&#8201;.&#8201;.&#8201;It
has exposed them to a significant amount of regulatory and legal risk,&rdquo; says Patel. &ldquo;If we thought that a shareholder proposal
would&rsquo;ve been sufficient, or potentially removing directors was enough to invigorate oversight, we would&rsquo;ve considered that.
But the lack of oversight the board has exhibited on these issues warrants a change.&rdquo;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0"></P>


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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Despite owning a minor stake in Starbucks, the SOC has injected heft
into its campaign by enlisting the help of well-regarded advisers, including law firm Schulte Roth &amp; Zabel and Okapi Partners &mdash;
who have previously worked with well-known activists such as Paul Singer&rsquo;s Elliott Management.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Starbucks spokesperson Jaime Riley says the company&rsquo;s board
&ldquo;has the right members to navigate its current operating environment&rdquo;. The company named three new board members earlier this
month &mdash; after SOC announced its campaign.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">She adds that Starbucks has nearly doubled employees&rsquo; pay since
2020 and that employee turnover is below pre-pandemic levels. In December, Starbucks published a report expressing a commitment to collective
bargaining.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">If there were any hope at Starbucks that the SOC would back down,
that faded on January 12 when the labour group submitted its preliminary proxy statement, including the three nominees it was putting
forward.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Maria Echaveste, a former adviser to Bill Clinton during his presidency,
Joshua Gotbaum, previously an investment banker with civic experience, and lawyer Wilma Liebman, the former head of the National Labor
Relations Board, will all appear on the white proxy card Starbucks sends to shareholders.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;Pursuant to [SEC] rules, Starbucks is required to show the
SOC Group nominees on our white proxy card,&rdquo; the company wrote in its own filing before urging shareholders not to vote for them.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">There is only one other proxy battle with the potential to overshadow
the SOC&rsquo;s campaign against Starbucks.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Disney is having to fend off two activist investors who are collectively
trying to replace five of the company&rsquo;s board members.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The first challenge is more traditional. Trian Partners, the hedge
fund co-founded by Peltz, who is no stranger to a proxy fight, is looking to get two board seats. The New York-based firm controls about
$3bn worth of Disney shares, the majority of which belong to Peltz&rsquo;s friend, the former chair of Marvel entertainment Isaac &ldquo;Ike&rdquo;
Perlmutter, who was ousted from the media giant shortly after Bob Iger returned to the chief executive&rsquo;s chair.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The second contest is coming from an unlikely source. Jason Aintabi,
a member of a wealthy Canadian family, has acquired approximately $15mn worth of Disney shares through his investment firm Blackwells Capital
and wants to win three board seats with the help of the SEC rule change.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Blackwells has set about attacking Trian; it has called on Peltz to
end his &ldquo;peacocking&rdquo; as well as the &ldquo;misguided and ego-driven campaign&rdquo; at Disney. The firm has also clashed with
Ancora, another investment firm with a tiny stake in Disney, which has publicly sided with Trian.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;This Disney situation is very interesting and demonstrates
for us that universal proxy can create a lot of chaos,&rdquo; says Jim Rossman, global head of shareholder advisory at Barclays.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Meanwhile, Disney has adopted a tactic as old as activist investing
itself by bringing in a white knight in the shape of ValueAct &mdash; a so-called friendly activist.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;<BR STYLE="clear: both"></P>


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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The San Francisco hedge fund, which owns about $500mn worth of Disney
shares, has come out in support of Iger&rsquo;s plan to reinvigorate the flagging media giant.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">The dispute may come to a head in very public fashion at Disney&rsquo;s
annual shareholder meeting this year.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;The worst nightmares are coming true for companies like Starbucks
and Disney, says Rossman. &ldquo;Labour leaders must be thinking about going after all the big consumer companies to make a splash. That&rsquo;s
one of the outcomes [of universal proxy voting] we advisers feared. The other one is that it turns the voting process into a free-for-all.&rdquo;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">A win for the SOC against Starbucks has the potential to dramatically
alter the balance of employee-employer relationships in corporate America.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">But several advisers cautioned that it would be too soon to say a
victory would unleash a wave of similar campaigns, citing Engine No. 1&rsquo;s success at Exxon.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;After Engine No. 1 there were predictions that floodgates would
open and that didn&rsquo;t happen,&rdquo; says an adviser to activist hedge funds. &ldquo;Every proxy fight is a bespoke situation and
it really involves a valuation of the company, its performance, board composition and its prospects.&rdquo;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Some labour groups are already considering it, according to people
familiar with the SOC, and many speculate that the next company to face such a challenge could be Amazon, which fought hard against unionisation.
But the fact that a boardroom challenge has even become a viable option is sign of how times have changed.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">Brad Lander, New York City&rsquo;s comptroller, says the city&rsquo;s
pension funds have not yet decided whether to vote for SOC&rsquo;s nominees, but considers the campaign &ldquo;an important next step
in that process where shareholders have a path for making their voices heard in the boardroom&rdquo;.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&ldquo;Universal proxy wasn&rsquo;t done for the narrow purpose of
facilitating getting board members with more workforce management and labour experience on to boards,&rdquo; Lander says. &ldquo;But [the
SOC challenge] is very much the kind of campaign that was envisioned when they did the work for proxy access.&rdquo;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0">&nbsp;</P>


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