SB 3649 Bans Employer Intimidation,
Infringement Upon Workers' Personal Beliefs
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., July 31,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters are celebrating after
the union-backed SB 3649, Illinois Worker Freedom of Speech
Act, passed into law today. The legislation bans mandatory
attendance at captive audience meetings, which are
employer-sponsored presentations filled with anti-union propaganda
designed to discourage organizing efforts.
"This victory happened because of a grassroots lobbying campaign
by and for rank-and-file union members in our state, and the
Teamsters were the frontline of that battle," said Thomas W. Stiede, President of Teamsters Joint
Council 25. "Illinois workers will
no longer be forced to choose between jeopardizing their
livelihoods or sitting through the toxic intimidation and outright
lies that employers subject them to during captive audience
meetings. Our success here demonstrates that even in the face of
corporate interests who want to crush the middle class, working
families can triumph by standing together in solidarity. We'd like
to thank the elected officials in state government who stood with
us in this fight."
SB 3649 was authored by State Senator Robert Peters (D – Chicago) and sponsored by Majority Leader
Marcus C. Evans, Jr. in the
Illinois House of Representatives.
Nationwide, Teamsters are pushing for state legislatures to ban
mandatory captive audience meetings. Connecticut, Oregon, Maine, Minnesota, and New York have already adopted legislation
banning them.
Teamsters Joint Council 25 represents more than 100,000 workers
at 25 local union affiliates in Chicago,
Illinois, and Northwest
Indiana. For more information, visit teamstersjc25.com.
Contact:
Matt McQuaid, (202)
624-6877
mmcquaid@teamster.org
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SOURCE Teamsters Joint Council 25