Last November, Howard Schultz traveled to Buffalo, N.Y., with a message to workers considering forming a union: Starbucks would do the best job looking out for employees’ interests.
During an hourlong speech delivered without notes, Mr. Schultz, Starbucks Corp.’s former leader, appealed to employees to work together with management. “Our core purpose and reason for being is to build the kind of company that creates a fragile balance between profit and doing the right thing,” he said.