Starbucks announced on Tuesday that they will be shutting down all of their company-owned coffee shops and corporate offices in the U.S. on May 29th. The shutdown will allow employees to attend racial bias training. The move comes amid the fallout of the arrest of two African-American men at a Starbucks in Philadelphia.

The two men were waiting for a friend and asked to use the restroom. They were told that it was for paying customers only. Police were called and the two were arrested, even though the friend did show up. Starbucks did not end up pressing charges. The CEO of Starbucks apologized for the incident and said that the employee who called the police is no longer with the company. Kevin Johnson said that while incidents like this are not limited to Starbucks, the company is committed to being part of the solution.

More than 8,000 Starbucks locations will close on May 29th for the training. 175,000 employees will be required to attend. There are 22 Starbucks locations in Eastern Iowa. Some are free standing and others are located in stores like Hy-Vee and Target. Only company-owned stores will be affected.

 

 

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