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

A man sits inside a Starbucks in New York. 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. (Mark Lennihan/AP)

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 the coffee chain was adhering to its own human rights standards amid a contentious effort to unionize its U.S. stores.