Letter of Resignation

11/11/2020

Dear Starbucks Corporation,

It is with great regret that I submit this letter of resignation. I am resigning due to fear of undue risk of illness or
injury. On multiple occasions I have received direct instruction to violate LA County reopening protocols as well
as Starbucks corporate guidelines for Covid safety.

My name is Noelle Tankard, partner number 144xxxxxx. I am a rehire. This is the second time that I have been
employed by Starbucks US and the third time that I have worked for a Starbucks corporation as I was also
employed in the UK.

I have currently worked for Starbucks for one year, beginning when I was hired at Txxxxxxxxx, store number
xxxxxx. I was transferred to Cxxxxxxxxx, store number xxxxxx, after choosing the Leave of Absence (LoA) option
presented to partners. My ask for LoA was not accepted; I was instead asked to work at both stores and, after
expressing my unhappiness and discomfort with the disregard to Covid safety being practiced at Txxxxxxxxx, I
accepted a full transfer to Cxxxxxxxxx.

In addition to numerous conversations with my store managers, I emailed my district manager Mxxxxxxxxxxxxx
with my concerns on September 17th, 2020. In response, I had a sit down meeting with Mxxxxxxxxxxxxx in
which he assured me that Covid safety would be taken seriously. Since that time, I received further direction to
disregard safety procedures including being directed to cease offering reminders or encouragement to
customers to wear masks indoors, ignore instances of capacity limits being exceeded, and was regularly
expected to continue working in a crowded indoor environment with close contact with unmasked customers. I
sent a second letter on November 7th, 2020 but received no response to my safety concerns.

The first time I was a Starbucks partner, I was a high school student. I enjoyed the fast-paced work environment
and team spirit ethos. I learned a considerable amount that prepared me to later manage a bar. More
importantly, I had a belief in the mission and values of Starbucks as a progressive and inclusive employer.
Starbucks donated travelers of coffee to my high school debate team and to fundraising events I organized with
my high school's Amnesty International chapter. Starbucks has been publicly committed to LGBTQ+ rights more
than other large corporations and was willing to make a public stance supporting BLM this spring. I spent the
last decade of my life working and volunteering in environmental conservation in Asia. When I returned home, I
hoped to find in Starbucks a job that could support me while I rebuilt my life in this country, continued to
support causes close to my heart, and developed myself.

Starbucks’ current mission statement includes a commitment to "acting with courage, challenging the status
quo, and finding new ways to grow" as well as "delivering our very best in all we do, holding ourselves
accountable for results".

These promises gave me hope that, of all corporations facing the challenge of a global pandemic, Starbucks
would be at the forefront of adapting to new standards of safety, finding new ways to engage with the public,
respecting both the mental health and biological threats facing its workforce, and promoting public health with
the "transparency, dignity and respect" its mission statement promises.

LETTER OF RESIGNATION
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This is why I am so disturbed to tender my resignation at this time, and why it is difficult to write that I feel that
to continue working at Starbucks would be a danger to my personal safety, my coworkers, and the general
public.

I have the utmost respect for all the baristas with whom I have worked, as well as supervisors and store
managers. I have seen how hard my colleagues are working to make the best of difficult and dangerous
conditions. However, I have deep concerns regarding corporate pressure, negligence, and priorities that are
undermining the staff's ability to protect themselves and their customers from Covid-19.

Initially, I hoped my experiences could be explained as an isolated issue, a regional problem of insufficient
knowledge or personal mistakes. I hoped that by bringing my concerns to the attention of the company, they
could be resolved. However, having talked to partners from many stores and districts and reading anonymous
accounts posted online by partners too scared to identify themselves - some of which included language
identical to that which my management has used with me - it is now my fear that the problems I have
experienced are widespread and result from company policy itself.

Starbucks is attempting to continue business as normal - not embracing change.

I have been told multiple times that stores need to "look as normal as possible." This has been said in reference
to removing distancing markings and signage (in breach of government Covid health protocols), removing
furniture deliberately placed to block customer access to the bar (important for partner safety and protection of
customer drinks from other customers), and removing mask reminder signs. These measures are important to
educate customers, many of whom wish to distance but are simply confused as to how and unaware of what is
expected of them.

Starbucks has failed to provide its partners consistent training in how to adjust to new procedures or follow
local government health codes.

There has been no clear guidance on Starbucks policies or government health code. No training on how to wear
a mask or how to effectively offer masks to unmasked customers has been added to the mandatory training
modules. Many stores have skipped meetings to inform partners of reopening doors and lobbies. Partners from
different stores have different levels of understanding of health code. On multiple occasions I have sought out
guidance and received conflicting information. I was given directions to directly break health code that I was
told came from the District Manager; I had a meeting with him to get clarification for myself - but continued to
find that other partners and supervisors were misinformed and/or continued to feel pressure to break health
code.

The most egregious issues have involved masking policies, but pressure to exceed capacity limits (by not
explaining or enforcing capacity limits to customers, not having enough staff working to post someone to the
door) is a close second and is a continued threat to partners and customers.

Starbucks is endangering its partners by understaffing

Handling of masking and capacity alone require additional staffing, which is not being provided. Accurately
following the health code behind the bar - including the isolation of POS and the partner involved with cash
handling being able to handwash before moving to production positions - dramatically slows down the speed at
which partners can produce drinks and move customers through the store. Sanitizing all high contact areas of
the store every 30 minutes slows down workflow. Ensuring that the wrong customer does not contaminate a

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mobile order item requires attention and slows down production time. Mixing sides into drinks on behalf of
each customer and getting orders accurate while communicating through masks and plexiglass takes effort and
slows down line wait time. This can often result in unhappy customers and leaves partners open to harassment.

There has been no recognition in the form of labor hours that doing our job is now more difficult than it was
before Covid and that it cannot be done at the same speed as before.

Instead, we are systematically understaffed and encouraged to cut labor when possible to keep store costs
down. We are facing these challenges while many partners are quarantined from Covid exposure or testing
positive, while some stores have a majority of their staff out and are having to close down or limit hours, and
while many experienced partners were let go and replaced with new hires.

Starbucks has created a culture of customer expectations valued above partner or customer safety.

Pressure to "make the moment right" and prioritize the "experience" is a longstanding part of Starbucks culture,
but the stakes at risk during the pandemic are unprecedented, as is the amount of harassment and abuse which
partners are facing. I am aware that the Third Place policy was updated to reflect this reality; however without
training partners on how to handle masking issues, without training on how to handle aggressive customers
versus those engaging in microaggressions, and without more staffing so that partners can address these issues,
the update is meaningless. Paired with the increased focus on Customer Connection scores and the pressure on
staff to engage with customers in ways which prioritize improving Customer Connections scores over ensuring
customer safety, the situation is impossible.

There has been no recognition in wages that doing our job is now more dangerous to our physical and mental
health.

Starbucks is not a leader in Covid safety. Starbucks is contributing to transmission rates.

I can no longer, in good conscience, work for Starbucks.

Until now I have hesitated to bring attention to the extent to which safety protocols are being broken, because I
have been scared that blame will be placed on baristas and supervisors for the failings. The situation is that they
are not trained or supported in upholding the health code or public safety measures.

I have hesitated in sharing Covid scientific information and mask information from my personal social media
accounts for fear it could jeopardize my employment and my standing with my coworkers.

I have hesitated in sharing stories of harassment I have received in the workplace with family and friends for
fear it would negatively reflect on my employer and impact not only my current employment, but my chances
of future employment and career opportunities.

But as the pandemic continues, as Covid cases spike across the country including the county in which I work, I
believe that it is crucially important that we openly discuss the challenges we face in fighting Covid transmission.
Covering this up is helping no one.

I understand this is a larger issue than Starbucks. Many corporations are flouting Covid safety protocols. Many
customers prefer an illusion of normalcy to facing the reality of the pandemic. I believe that the government
has not yet done enough to reduce Covid transmission in public places. I did not expect my employer to go

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above and beyond - but I did, at a bare minimum, expect my employer to follow the government guidelines.
And Starbucks has not done so.

I am no longer willing to make a choice between my paycheck and public safety. I hope that as a result of my
sending this letter, Starbucks will engage with these issues, find new solutions, and improve the experience for
customers and partners alike.

Sincerely,
Noelle Tankard

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