Lawsuit contends Oregon law violates employers’ free speech rights
From our weekly issue dated December 30, 2009
Associated Oregon Industries (AOI) announced Tuesday, Dec. 22 that it has filed a federal lawsuit arguing that a new Oregon law unconstitutionally eliminates an employer’s federally protected right to conduct mandatory meetings with employees to provide information on the effects and drawbacks of a unionized workplace.
The lawsuit was filed in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The new law, Senate Bill 519, was passed by the 2009 Oregon Legislature despite warnings from the business community that the legislation would violate federal law, AOI said.
“AOI demonstrated very clearly to the Oregon legislature that SB 519 was an unlawful and unconstitutional violation of an employer’s federally protected right to hold mandatory meeting with employees,” said AOI President and CEO Jay Clements. “We are now forced to defend the free speech rights of Oregon employers in federal court because the Oregon Legislature refused to do so.”
The case is Associated Oregon Industries and Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Brad Avakian and Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local No. 296.
In the federal lawsuit, AOI argues that federal law pre-empts Oregon’s SB 519, which AOI said runs counter to 50 years of federal protection for employers’ rights to hold mandatory meetings to rebut union rhetoric about unionizing. The lawsuit also contends that SB 519 violates employers’ speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.
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AOI said that Oregon is the first state to pass an employer “gag” law. SB 519 is based on model legislation drafted by the AFL-CIO union designed to undermine federally protected employer speech rights on a state-by-state basis, AOI said. It added that such law is designed to give labor unions unprecedented power and advantage in union organizing campaigns.
“Right now, Oregon is the battleground for employer speech rights nationwide,” Clemens said.
“Unions are having a hard enough time organizing workplaces based on merit, so their strategy now consists of unconstitutionally muzzling employers and changing the rules for their own gain on a state-by-state basis. Today, AOI and the U.S. Chamber are taking a stand for the rights of employers across our great country.”
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