Captive audience meeting

A captive audience meeting is a mandatory meeting held during working hours, organized by an employer. These meetings are typically convened in the context of union organizing efforts. Opponents of the practice contend that such meetings can be used to discourage union activity or disseminate selective information;^[1][2] employees may face disciplinary action, including termination, for not attending or for challenging the content presented.^[3] Proponents argue that captive audience meetings offer a structured opportunity for employers to provide information on legal rights, obligations, and workplace dynamics that may not otherwise be addressed during fast-moving union campaigns.^[4]

Prior to November 2024, in the United States, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA) broadly permitted captive audience meetings but did not allow them to be held in the final 24 hours prior to a union election.^[5][3][6] Employers defended the practice as protected free speech; critics viewed the practice as an infringement on employees' right not to engage with employer speech in matters of collective bargaining.^[5][7][8]

Employers argue that captive audience meetings are essential because they may represent the only opportunity for workers to hear a critical or cautionary perspective on unionization. Under current U.S. labor law, union organizers are legally permitted to make broad promises and campaign claims—even if those claims are aspirational or selectively omit drawbacks. In Shirlington Supermarket, Inc., 106 NLRB 666 (1953), the National Labor Relations Board held that union campaign speech is not binding and may include nonfactual assertions, provided they are not coercively false. As a result, employers contend that mandatory meetings are necessary to counterbalance what they view as one-sided or coercive union rhetoric, especially because union organizers are not required to present both benefits and risks during campaigns.^[9]

Captive audience meetings are held in about 90% of labor elections;^[10] union win rates are inversely correlated with the number of captive audience meetings held.^[5]

See also

• History of union busting in the United States