Starbucks Coffee Co. SBUX said Monday U.S. retail hourly partners will receive an incremental pay increase of at least 3% starting Jan. 1. Eligible employees with two-to-five years of service will get at least 4% and those with five or more years of service will get at least 5%. Starting in February, hourly workers will accrue paid vacation time starting 90 days after hire. It’s also launching its first North America Barista Championship in February. Starbucks said it’s studying credential and certification programs to add to its Starbucks College Achievement Plan, which now includes 23,000 employees pursuing their first-time bachelor’s degree. Starbucks now pays an average wage of nearly $17.50 per hour and a range of between $15 and $24 per hour, and up to about $27 per hour including benefits. Starbucks also offers equity ownership in the company through annual Bean Stock grants to employees with more than $2 billion in additional earnings paid out thus far. Starbucks said last week it would provide additional details of its employee benefits as part of a 55,000-store expansion in the works at the company. Starbucks stock was up 0.6% in premarket trading on Monday.
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