Today’s Good News: Reprieve from “Captive Audience” Meetings
Progressive States Network tells us that West Virginia’s House of Delegates last week passed a bill that would give employees the option not to attend mandatory anti-union “captive audience” meetings, and to espouse pro-union views at such meetings, without being fired.  I’ve been in such meetings and found them laughable, but too often they’re really intimidating and confusing for workers. Guess what, other states have had the same free speech and pro-labor idea too. New Jersey was the first state to approve a “Worker Freedom” law back in 2006, although the Colorado legislature approved it as well that same year, only to see it vetoed by the governor.  Chambers in New Hampshire, Michigan and Vermont have all approved Worker Freedom bills as well, part of the increasing movement to find ways to support stronger labor rights on the state level and offset the weaknesses of federal labor law.
Progressive States has highlighted numerous other encouraging and creative efforts in this area, for example:
- CA passed a bill in 2000 that prohibited companies receiving state funds from misusing that money to undermine the freedom of their employees to form unions. After years of blockage by the state Chamber of Commerce and other groups, the Court of Appeals ruled in Sept. 2007 that the state does in fact have the power to do this.
- States are extending labor rights to workers like child care and home health care workers and farmworkers, who are often treated as independent contractors without union protection and who aren’t protected by federal law.
- States are protecting free speech. California, Colorado and New Jersey require mall owners to give union organizers, as well as others, access to sidewalks, parking lots and interior public spaces.
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