"It was a hard time going through everything and wondering what the outcome would be," said Woltz, of Angola, N.Y. "The chaplains were wonderful. They just went out of their way."
Baillie Lumber Co. of Hamburg, N.Y., is one of hundreds of U.S. companies that pay chaplains to work with their employees. But lawmakers in several states, concerned that chaplains will evangelize on the factory floor or open the door to political and anti-union campaigns, are considering legislation banning the practice.
Connecticut is the first battleground between labor unions who support the proposals, and business and industry groups that are lining up in opposition. Legislation in Hawaii has been deferred in a legislative committee and a bill in Colorado has yet to find a Senate sponsor.
Naomi Walker, director of state legislative programs at the AFL-CIO in Washington D.C., said the national labor federation has drafted a model bill based on Connecticut's legislation.
Backers of so-called "captive audience" laws are seeking states where there's a good chance legislation will be enacted, said Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute in Princeton, N.J..
The law is needed to rein in employers that impose their religious beliefs at the workplace, including the use of corporate chaplains, he said. "Their job is to convert the unconverted," Maltby said.
Gil Stricklin, founder and president of Marketplace Ministries Inc. in Dallas, said his company does not evangelize. Marketplace Ministries has been hired by 300 companies in 38 states, but by none in Connecticut.
"We're not there to proselytize," he said. "I don't take my faith to harass you or hurt you or make you feel inferior."
Connecticut lawmakers said they've not seen a sudden burst of religious zeal at the workplace, but are taking action before problems arise.
"I guess it can happen, especially if you have people who are very passionate about their beliefs," said Connecticut state Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, who is shepherding the bill through the state House of Representatives.
The proposed legislation, which is backed by the state and national AFL-CIO, also would bar union-bashing at meetings that workers are compelled to attend.
Workers who believe they are disciplined for refusing to attend meetings intended as a platform for management's views could sue to overturn the discipline.
Lori Pelletier, secretary-treasurer of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, said Connecticut's legislation would give workers "freedom in the workplace."
Business groups have promised a fight.
"It's an extremely broad bill," said Bonnie Stewart, lobbyist for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association. "When talking about political activity, it would prohibit us from talking to employees about government contracts and actions at the state, federal and local levels."
Roger Vann, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, said the group "understands the spirit" of the proposed legislation, but would prefer a different approach.
If an employer requires a worker to attend a meeting where the boss speaks against the union, management should be required to provide equal time, he said.
"We believe strongly that the answer to objectionable speech is not less speech but more speech," Vann said.
In New York, Baillie Lumber spokeswoman Jill Meyer said the company's chaplain program, operated through Marketplace Ministries, is voluntary.
"Each chaplain comes in once a week, makes the rounds to people and says hi to them," she said. "If people want to talk to them, that's fine. If not, that's fine, too."
Woltz said she doesn't understand the fuss.
"The whole process is totally voluntary," she said. "There has never been a meeting that we had to go through."
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved)
