Trump Travel Ban Highlights Risk To Corporate Supporters And Opponents; Boycotts Hit Uber, Starbucks

Support Or Boycott Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation SBUX's outgoing CEO Howard Schultz said in a blog post that he is deeply concerned with the Executive Order and he will be taking several specific actions.

Schultz reiterated his support for Sens. Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin's "Dreamers" initiative, which provides services for undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children.

Schultz also pledged to hire 10,000 refugees over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks operates.

TheStreet shared in its reporting of the story some of the public Facebook comments, which were made in support — and against Schultz's initiatives.

One user commented, " Good. Someone putting his beliefs into action. And frankly this is probably the best assistance in the interim to those in need. Good plan."

Another user presented the opposing side of the argument, "Uummmm how about Vets first. I'm all for helping anyone in a time of need but why are our Vets looked over every single time. Have there been any programs to actively recruit Vets to be staff or managers?"

Uber

Twitter users might have realized that #DeleteUber was trending over the weekend.

Over the weekend, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a mostly immigrant and Muslim union, said that it will stop service to and from the JFK Airport in New York City in protest of Trump's Executive Order.

Uber's ride hailing app's pricing is based on real-time supply and demand. Given the halt in service among many taxis, demand for users needing to get to and from the airport naturally soared. The company then announced that it will not be surging the price for users of its platform around the airport.

Why The Controversy?

As noted by NY Mag, the fact that Uber was conducting business as usual "infuriated protestors, who accused the company of scabbing." Image Credit: By U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - POTUS visits DHS, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ironically, Uber's CEO Travis Kalanick pledged to compensate drivers on its platform who may be affected by Trump's Executive Order and promised to compensate them pro bono to "help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table."