Starbucks employees got a serious jolt on Monday.
Starting on Oct. 3, they are getting a 5 percent to 15 percent raise and better health insurance, and some will get more generous stock options.
Chief Executive Howard Schultz outlined those changes in a letter to employees on Monday — but not all of the java joint’s 160,000 employees are jumping for joy.
Over the past month, Starbucks has been quietly scaling back workers’ hours — in some cases by 50 percent, according to Jaime Prater, a Los Angeles barista who started a coworker.org campaign that has garnered 12,855 supporters.
“Starbucks has continually tightened its labor belt, which has led to a crisis in its stores,” Prater said.
Schultz blamed some of the schedule changes on “customers’ routines” changing during the summer.
Some industry experts said the pay raise reflects a tightening labor market.
Customers will get their own jolt on July 12, when a price hike of as much as 30 cents on some beverages is brewed up.


