Starbucks is giving its baristas a shot at an online college degree, an unusual benefit in an industry where higher education is often out of reach for workers.
The coffee chain is partnering with Arizona State University to make an undergraduate degree available at a steep discount to 135,000 U.S. employees who work at least 20 hours a week.
The program underscores the predicament of many workers who earn low wages, don't have much job security and are accustomed to barely scraping by, often by holding down more than one job. It also highlights the stark disparities in advancement opportunities between the rich and poor, and how a traditional college education remains a near impossibility for so many.
At an event in New York City on Monday, CEO Howard Schultz told an audience of about 340 Starbucks workers and their guests that the issue was personal for him because he was the first in his family to attend college.
