Starbucks founder Howard Schultz has called for a boycott of campaign contributions to President Barack Obama and all members of Congress until a proper deal on the federal debt is negotiated.
CEOs of major retail companies, including Plano-based J.C. Penney Co. and Austin-based Whole Foods Market , have pledged their support in a partial list that was made public Thursday on Facebook.
In his open letter titled “Our country is better than this,” Schultz invited others to support his boycott and to hire workers without waiting for government incentives. By Monday afternoon, the Facebook page Upward Spiral 2011 said 1,750 had taken the pledge to withhold campaign funds, and 248 pledged to hire.
Schultz said the boycott would be lifted when “a fair, bipartisan deal is reached that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing.”