Paul Sassone

Given recent headlines few of us would argue that race relations in America don’t need attention.

So, who you gonna call?

Starbucks.

Starbucks?

Yep. The coffee behemoth has decided it should be the facilitator for a conversation on race in America. Accordingly, on March 16 Starbucks took its first step  — right onto a banana peel.

The company asked its baristas (the workers who make your pricey Skinny Peppermint Mocha) to write on each cup, “Race Together.”

This would, it was hoped, start a conversation on race between customers and baristas.

Inexplicably, baristas received no training on how to conduct the conversation, nor what attitudes on race Starbucks wanted its employees to promote.

Should the baristas just wing it and push their own ideas and values?

Since there are more than 130,000 Starbucks baristas, there could be a frighteningly wide variety of views.

What if someone — customer or barista — snarled, “I hate everyone who isn’t exactly like me. Wanna make something of it?”

Fortunately, violence was not a byproduct. Most customers ignored the message written on their cup, chose not to bare their views on a sensitive topic to a total stranger, or merely grabbed their coffee and hurried off to work.

Well, Starbucks has stopped writing on cups and is moving to a new phase that will include employee forums, dialogs with police and community leaders, community meetings and putting more stores in minority communities.

Why, you may ask, is Starbucks doing all this?

The published response is that the company wants to help insure that no one is left out of the American Dream. A worthy goal. But what expertise, what influence, does Starbucks have in the area of race relations?

What Starbucks does possess is expertise and direct and indirect power to help deliver another vital component of the American Dream.

There is no American Dream for people who can’t afford to live it. For low-income families the American Dream is just that, a dream. And Starbucks is part of the huge retail service industry, which is notorious for paying low wages while reaping high profits.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2012 (the latest year for which there are statistics) the median hourly income for retail salespersons was $10.22 an hour, or $21,410 a year. The federal government sets the poverty threshold for a family of three at $20,090.

Starbucks tacitly admitted its wages were low when last October it announced it would raise employee wages. It raised wages, but would not publicize by how much.

It also promised to reform bad scheduling practices, including “clopening,” by which the same employee who closes the store at night must open it the following day.

Now, here is an area in which Starbucks can lead while directly helping workers approach the American Dream.

From everything I’ve read Starbucks offers better pay and benefits than many other companies offer their retail salespersons and staffs.

Starbucks could publicly advocate for higher minimum wages, support living-wage legislation — and then lead by example. Such open and public leadership just might lead to other companies following suit.

This is a real way in which Starbucks could help make sure no one is left out of the American Dream.

I’ll drink an Iced Cinnamon Dolce Latte to that!