SB 3649 Passes Both Chambers Thanks to Union Lobbying Efforts

(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — Teamsters are calling on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign into law Senate Bill 3649, the Illinois Worker Freedom of Speech Act. The bill would ban mandatory attendance at captive audience meetings, employer-sponsored presentations filled with anti-union propaganda designed to discourage organizing efforts. The legislation passed both chambers of the state legislature following a rank-and-file powered grassroots lobbying campaign by the Teamsters and other unions throughout the state.

“Captive audience meetings infringe on workers’ rights by compelling them to choose between their job security or having to endure offensive propaganda,” said Thomas W. Stiede, Teamsters Joint Council 25 President. “Employers routinely use corporate indoctrination to foster an environment conducive to coercion whenever they find out about a union organizing drive. The Worker Freedom of Speech Act safeguards workers’ rights to opt out of these meetings without fear of repercussions.”

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 them while other states are considering similar proposals.

“Having managers corner workers and try to talk them out of organizing a union shouldn’t be a thing that happens,” said Danny Mejia, a Local 777 member who works at Ascend Cannabis in Chicago. “That’s why we need this bill to become law. Elected officials have a responsibility to workers and to fight union busting. They’re elected by us, and they need to have our rights in mind.”

Teamsters Joint Council 25 represents more than 125,000 hardworking men and women throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana. For more information, go to teamstersjc25.com.

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