Starbucks labor report — demanded by shareholders — calls for better training on union issues

abcnews.go.com:

An independent review of Starbucks' labor relations concluded that Starbucks should better communicate its commitment to workers’ collective bargaining rights and train its employees to respect those rights

Starbucks should better communicate its commitment to workers’ collective bargaining rights and train its employees to respect those rights, according to an independent assessment released Wednesday.

Starbucks’ shareholders voted in March to conduct the assessment to see whether Starbucks was adhering to its own human rights standards amid a contentious effort to unionize its U.S. stores.

Since 2021, at least 370 of Starbucks’ 9,600 company-owned U.S. stores have voted to unionize with Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. Starbucks opposes unionization, and the company and Workers United haven’t yet agreed to a contract at any of those stores.

Starbucks opposed the independent assessment, saying it was unnecessary, but 52% of shareholders approved it. The Seattle company hired Thomas Mackall, a lawyer and labor relations expert, to complete the assessment.

In his report, Mackall found that the unionization effort took Starbucks by surprise, and it didn't have good training or guidance in place for employees on how to engage with the union.

Mackall noted that the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board has filed at least 130 unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks, which generally involve managers making illegal threats or promises to unionizing workers or retaliatory discipline or discharges of pro-union employees. Starbucks disputes those charges.

Mackall said there is no evidence that Starbucks trained managers to violate labor laws. And he said the