For 76 years it has been lawful for an employer to require employees under threat of discipline or discharge to attend meetings in which the employer expresses its views on unionization.

The NLRB now says that is a violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

The decision is Amazon.com Services LLC (11/13/2024) [PDF].

The Board did say that an employer may lawfully hold meetings with workers to express its views on unionization so long as workers are provided reasonable advance notice of: the subject of any such meeting, that attendance is voluntary with no adverse consequences for failure to attend, and that no attendance records of the meeting will be kept.

The Board's press release:

"The Board articulated several reasons why captive audience meetings interfere with employees’ rights under the Act, thus violating Section 8(a)(1). First, such meetings interfere with an employee’s right under Section 7 of the Act to freely decide whether, when, and how to participate in a debate concerning union representation, or refrain from doing so. Second, captive audience meetings provide a mechanism for an employer to observe and surveil employees as it addresses the exercise of employees’ Section 7 rights.  Finally, an employer’s ability to compel attendance at such meetings on pain of discipline or discharge lends a coercive character to the message regarding unionization that employees are forced to receive. The employer’s ability to require attendance at such meetings demonstrates the employer’s economic power over its employees and reasonably tends to inhibit them from acting freely in exercising their rights.

The Board made clear that this change in the governing standard will be applied prospectively only."

Of course, this decision will be overruled once President-Elect Trump appoints a Republican-dominated Board.