Connecticut Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney has introduced a bill that would make Connecticut the second state in the country to ban captive audience meetings. Captive audience meetings are anti-union "meetings" that employees are forced to attend. Looney's bill would simply allow workers to opt-out of captive audience meetings, a common and effective union-busting tactic.
Big business has already lined-up against the legislation. “These are mandatory closed-door meetings during work hours, where workers are often threatened and harassed about joining the union,” said Ed Hawthorne, President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO.
Wisconsin passed captive audience legislation in 2009 but then reversed course in favor of the anti-union lobby. Oregon’s legislation has been the subject of a court fight.
This report was published on March 9, 2022