Hilario Becerra was one of the leaders of a union organizing campaign at a painting company in Chicago. Amid fierce anti-union messaging from management delivered through many hours of meetings, workers voted 14 to 8 against unionizing in June.Illinois has become the latest state to adopt legislation aimed at protecting workers from their employers' anti-union messaging.
For companies who believe their employees would be ill-served by unions, these meetings have proven effective in dampening worker enthusiasm for organizing campaigns, in some cases even defeating them.Since 2022, a half dozen states including Connecticut, Minnesota and Washington have made it illegal for employers to mandate attendance at religious, political or anti-union meetings.
Alberto Barraza, organizing director for Painters District Council 14, believes the new Illinois law would have made a difference in a failed union campaign this spring. The consultant also showed up at job sites, taking aside workers individually to continue the pressure campaign, he says. The groups say the laws are a violation of the First Amendment, denying employers their right to free speech, and are also in conflict with the National Labor Relations Act, which protects an employer's communications with employees as long as they do not contain threats of reprisals or promises of benefits.
"If somebody wants to walk away from a meeting, they should have the right to do it without being retaliated against," says Tim Drea, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, which help pushed through the Illinois legislation.With the bill signed into law, focus turns to educating workers