Final answer:
The 'captive audience' rule being described as needing employer balance with union speech is false. This rule allows employers to address workers without requiring equal time for union responses. Labor laws protect union activities and define strike responses.
Step-by-step explanation:
The claim that the "captive audience" rule requires an employer to allow the union an opportunity to conduct its own "captive audience" speech is, in fact, false. This rule refers to instances where an employer may address employees on company time and property, typically regarding union matters. Historically, labor disputes have revolved around the balance of power between employers and unions.
While employers have argued for individual contract freedom, unions have stressed that this undermines collective bargaining and employee solidarity. Labor laws, such as the Wagner Act, have played a crucial role in ensuring union rights and shaping political support for decades. On the matter of union membership and strikes, it has been left to the states to decide if mandatory union membership is required for employment, and the president has the authority to intervene with a cooling-off period during critical union strikes.