Despite the contentious nature of the election, Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz wants to spread the love.
Schultz is urging his employees to embrace “respect and dignity” during this “epic, unseemly election,” as well as encouraging them to share “kindness, compassion, empathy, and love,” according to a letter he wrote on Sunday.
Although the Starbucks exec did endorse Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in October, he didn’t suggest employees should vote for a particular candidate come Tuesday, according to the letter.
“Let’s each embrace the universal virtues of respect and dignity, refusing to allow the hatred on cable news, the ugliness of our politics, and the lack of political role models for our kids to define us and to dictate how we treat each other,” Schultz wrote.
He continued: “Like the drawing of so many faces with a single, unbroken line on this season’s green unity cup, we are all connected.”
Schultz has notoriously been more vocal about social and political issues than other top execs. In the past, he’s shown support for marriage equality and has called for open discussions about race at Starbucks stores. The coffee-chain also found itself in the center of a national debate on guns a few years earlier, in 2013.
