Starbucks has started to unionize in several locations, with dozens more considering a vote to do the same.
Schultz spent three decades with the Seattle-based company, helping grow it from 11 stores to a global brand with over 28,000 locations. The company stressed that the position is voluntary, and Schultz will receive $1 in compensation.
He replaces president and CEO Kevin Johnson, who has left as the company faces a growing demand for unionization among its employees. FILE - In this March 18, 2015, file photo, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz speaks at the coffee company's annual shareholders meeting in Seattle. Starbucks Corp. says Schultz is stepping down as executive chairman later this month of the coffee chain he joined more than 30 years ago.
"If Starbucks can afford to spend $20 billion on stock buybacks and dividends and provide a $20 million compensation package to its [outgoing] CEO, it can afford a unionized workforce that can collectively bargain for better wages, better benefits, safer working conditions and reliable schedules," Sanders wrote to Schultz.