ILLINOIS TEAMSTERS URGE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO BAN MANDATORY ATTENDANCE AT ANTI-UNION MEETINGS

Teamsters Call on Lawmakers to Protect Workers' Free Speech and Pass SB 3649

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters testified before the Illinois General Assembly in favor of Senate Bill 3649 (SB 3649). The bill, authored by Sen. Robert Peters, would ban mandatory attendance at captive audience meetings. These mandatory meetings are employer-sponsored presentations filled with anti-union propaganda designed to discourage organizing efforts. Employers use captive audience meetings to convince workers not to join a union, usually through intimidation, false promises, and outright lies.

"We urge our friends in the state legislature to pass SB 3649 to protect workers' rights and preserve free speech," said Thomas W. Stiede, President of Teamsters Joint Council 25. "Illinois is a pro-worker state, and other states have already adopted similar legislation across the country. We must join them because no employers should be allowed to utilize mandatory meetings as a way of intimidating and threatening workers who seek union representation."

"This bill is of paramount importance to the labor movement," said Pasquale D. Gianni, Political Director for Teamsters Joint Council 25. "Mandatory captive audience meetings are a tactic employers use to abuse workers and discourage union organizing. SB 3649 protects working people by preserving their dignity and enhancing their ability to decide freely whether they want to form a union."

The bill was approved by the Senate Labor Committee on March 6. Nationwide, Teamsters are pushing for state legislatures to address the issue of mandatory captive audience meetings. Connecticut, Oregon, Maine, Minnesota, and New York have already adopted legislation banning these types of mandatory anti-union meetings. Similar legislation is currently making its way through legislatures in Maryland, Colorado, and Washington.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:
Matt McQuaid, (202) 624-6877
[email protected]  

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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters