TEAMSTERS-BACKED WORKER FREE SPEECH BILL PASSES RHODE ISLAND SENATE LABOR COMMITTEE

Teamsters Local 251 Urges Full Senate Passage of Senate Bill 2785

PROVIDENCE, R.I., April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rhode Island Senate Committee on Labor yesterday passed Teamsters-endorsed legislation, Senate Bill 2785, which would ban employers from forcing workers to attend captive audience meetings. Employers frequently use captive audience meetings to disseminate anti-union propaganda and deter workers from organizing.

"Workers deserve the right to clock in, do their job, and clock out without being subjected to anti-union misinformation sessions by their employer," said Matt Taibi, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 251 and Teamsters Eastern Region International Vice President. "The Teamsters are grateful to Senators LaMountain and Bissaillon for introducing this important piece of legislation and to the members of the Senate Committee on Labor for referring it to a full Senate vote."

In the 2023 legislative session, Local 251 supported the introduction of the bill, which was then passed by the full state Senate, but ultimately never made it out of the state House Committee on Labor.

"We encourage the Senate to pass this bill swiftly—and we ask members of the House to follow in their footsteps," Taibi added.

If passed and signed into law, Rhode Island would join Oregon, Connecticut, Minnesota, Maine, New York, and Washington in banning mandatory attendance at captive audience meetings.

Teamsters Local 251 represents more than 6,300 workers in a wide variety of industries throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. For more information, go to TeamstersLocal251.org.

Contact:
Matt Taibi, (401) 434-0454 x227
[email protected]

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SOURCE Teamsters Local 251