Albany, New York - New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a bill putting an end to one of employers' favorite anti-union tactics: captive-audience meetings!

Hochul signed Senate Bill 4982 on Wednesday prohibiting employers' from holding captive-audience meetings, or mandatory anti-union sessions designed to discourage workers from organizing.

"This legislation will help to ensure that all New Yorkers receive the benefits and protections that allow them to work with dignity," the governor said in a statement. "My administration is committed to making our state the most worker-friendly state in the nation, and I thank the bill sponsors for their partnership in our mission to establish the strongest and most robust protections right here in New York."

In New York, workers have reported employers hiring anti-labor consultants to intimidate workers into rejecting a union, including at Amazon facilities and Starbucks stores.

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State Senator Jessica Ramos, primary sponsor of S.4982, said in a Wednesday statement: "You don’t check your first amendment rights and freedom of conscience at the door when you clock in at work. Political, partisan, and religious speech coming from an employer can be intimidating. But workers made it clear they are willing to fight back."

The Empire State has now joined Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, and Oregon in banning mandatory anti-union meetings.

The National Labor Relations Board is also looking to ban captive-audience meetings nationwide.