For over 60 years, employers have had a federally protected right under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to hold paid, mandatory meetings with employees to discuss various issues related to unions and unionization. These meetings, often referred to by unions as “captive-audience” talks, have historically been used by employers to explain to new hires and other employees the tactics unions use to collect union authorization cards, the legal rights employees have when asked to sign those cards, and the merits of a union-free workplace. . . .
On May 12, 2010, Wisconsin became the second state in the nation (Oregon was the first earlier this year) to pass a law designed to strip employers of their right to hold “captive-audience” talks with their employees. The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) was amended to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees who refuse to attend “employer-sponsored meetings” or “participate in any communication with the employer or with an agent, representative, or designee of the employer” where the “primary purpose” of the meeting or communication was to express the employer’s “opinion” about an employee’s decision to join or support a union. . . .
The judgment declares the WFEA amendments unconstitutional insofar as they prohibit employers from discriminating against employees who refuse to attend a mandatory meeting or participate in any communication with their employer about the decision to join or support a union. 
(Read more from laborrelationscounsel.com)Wisconsin “Captive-Audience” Meeting Ban Struck Down