ANALYSIS: Employers Look to Speak to a ‘Captive Audience’ Again

At the end of 2024, the National Labor Relations Board overturned Babcock & Wilcox, a 76-year-old precedent, ruling that union-related “captive audience” meetings violate the National Labor Relations Act. In Amazon.com, one of the board’s most prominent decisions under the Biden administration, the board prohibited employers from holding mandatory meetings to persuade employees to vote against union representation. These meetings, which require employees to attend or risk discipline or discharge, had been a standard employer campaign tactic during unionization drives since 1948.

The Amazon.com decision will likely be overturned after the board reaches a quorum. That outcome ...