Below is an article from Thursday's Charleston Daily Mail describing
some of the reaction to the so-called "Captive Audience" bill that so
many have been encouraging State Senators to oppose. The bill has been
referenced to two committees, Judiciary and Finance, in the Senate
after having passed the House earlier this week. The "gag order"
legislation is being pushed by organized labor and as has been said
many times, it sends "completely the wrong message" about West Virginia
being opened for business.
Below is an article from Thursday's Charleston Daily Mail describing some of the reaction to the so-called "Captive Audience" bill that so many have been encouraging State Senators to oppose. The bill has been referenced to two committees, Judiciary and Finance, in the Senate after having passed the House earlier this week. The "gag order" legislation is being pushed by organized labor and as has been said many times, it sends "completely the wrong message" about West Virginia being opened for business. If you have not done so, please express your concern with this bill to the Senator from your home county or the county in which you do business. Mike Caputo and Anna Dailey (Dinsmore & Shohl) taped a Decision Makers segment on “Captive Audience” legislation with Bray Cary to air this weekend.
2/28/08
Business groups say 'Captive Audience' bill is another blow to state's reputation
by George Hohmann
Daily Mail Business Editor
State business groups have launched an all-out attack on a House bill that would regulate employers' communications with employees. The so-called "Captive Audience" bill is "another nail in the coffin for the state's economic future," the Charleston Regional Chamber of Commerce said in a call to action issued late Wednesday. "West Virginia is about to become the only state in the nation that would pre-empt federal law by censoring an employer's right to organize mandatory meetings and express views on business matters," Chamber Chairman James Sturgeon said in a prepared statement.
Sturgeon called the bill "onerous and unworkable," and said it represents "an unprecedented attack on free speech in West Virginia." He said that if it were enacted, "it is likely to be overturned on Constitutional grounds by the federal courts - costing our state years of litigation and thousands or even millions of dollars in legal expenses." Matt Ballard, president and chief executive officer of the chamber, said in a prepared statement, "The passage of this bill will mark West Virginia as a leader - a leader in censoring speech and hamstringing business. It will generate yet another unwanted round of negative media coverage of West Virginia." The Charleston chamber is the largest regional chamber in the state. It is the political action arm of the Charleston Area Alliance. The alliance is a regional economic development organization with more than 700 members.
House Bill 4132 passed the House Monday on a 64-33 vote and is now in the Senate.
The bill would prohibit employers from forcing their employees to attend meetings where the employer endorses political candidates or offers anti-union rhetoric. Some observers have said the bill also might be aimed at trying to outlaw meetings like the Friends of Coal membership drive Walker Machinery is having at its locations. The bill prohibits employers from firing employees who do not attend meetings. The bill allows lawsuits and civil penalties. House Judiciary Chairwoman Carrie Webster, D-Kanawha, who led the effort for House passage, said, "We should be free from oppressive speech." Webster said the bill keeps employees from being "subjected to an employer's political beliefs." Delegate Mike Burdiss, D-Wyoming, a former United Mine Workers executive, commented, "It's just one of these things where you have the right not to listen and can walk away."
The Charleston Chamber's position paper says the bill "gives employees three new reasons to sue their employers" and "requires the state's Commissioner of Labor to set up a mini-National Labor Relations Board to investigate and adjudicate complaints, with its funding source coming from prosecution and fines it levies against employers. Meanwhile, the real NLRB will still have jurisdiction over these matters with potentially conflicting results." The Charleston chamber said the bill would impose "new costs and administrative hardships on our state's businesses," and "threatens to offset the positive effects of tax reductions and other recent moves to strengthen West Virginia's business climate." The call to action by the Charleston Chamber comes less than a week after the state Chamber of Commerce issued a similar call. The state chamber, which advertises itself as "The voice of business in West Virginia," labeled House Bill 4132 and four other bills as "anti-employer" and "anti-jobs" legislation.
On Tuesday during the regular monthly meeting of the Charleston Area Alliance's Board of Directors, a memo was circulated from Anna Dailey of the law firm Dinsmore & Shohl that says the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on March 19 in a case involving free speech in a captive audience setting. The case, titled Chamber of Commerce vs. Brown, comes out of California. "The U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide the case this year," Dailey's memo says. "The West Virginia Legislature should wait until next year to see what the U.S. Supreme Court says about employer free speech under the NLRA and federal labor law pre-emption."
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