**NLRB Decision Protects Workers' Rights Against Coercive Union Meetings**

In a significant ruling, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has determined that employers cannot mandate employee attendance at meetings about unionization under threat of discipline or termination. This decision overturns the precedent set by Babcock & Wilcox Co. in 1948 and addresses concerns that such "captive-audience meetings" violate Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act.

The Board explained that forcing employees to attend these meetings impedes their Section 7 rights, which protect their freedom to decide whether and how to engage in discussions about union representation. Furthermore, these meetings can be used by employers to monitor employees' behavior and coerce them through their economic power over them. Such conditions, the Board argued, exert undue pressure on employees, inhibiting their freedom to exercise legally protected rights.

However, the ruling clarified that employers are still permitted to hold meetings on unionization, provided they notify employees in advance about the meeting's subject, inform them that attendance is voluntary with no negative repercussions for non-attendance, and ensure that no records of attendance are kept. This aims to balance the rights of workers with the ability of employers to convey their views on union matters in a non-coercive environment.

NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran stated, "Ensuring that workers can make a truly free choice about whether they want union representation is one of the fundamental goals of the National Labor Relations Act. Captive audience meetings, which give employers near-unfettered freedom to force their message about unionization on workers under threat of discipline or discharge, undermine this important goal."

Chairman McFerran, along with Members Prouty and Wilcox, supported the decision, while Member Kaplan dissented. This ruling reinforces the NLRB's commitment, since its establishment in 1935, to protecting employees against unfair labor practices and safeguarding their right to advocate for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.

The NLRB’s annual activities include conducting hundreds of workplace elections and investigating thousands of unfair labor practice charges, underscoring its critical role in regulating labor relations in the private sector.