The United States settled many Indian tribes on reservations, giving the tribes the opportunity to maintain tribal laws and traditions. Under such an arrangement, Indian casinos came into existence, and one of the largest is Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, which is owned and managed by The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
In a surprise decision, an appeals court ruled that American Indian tribes are subject to federal labor laws. That decision opened the door to union organizing efforts.
Now more than 60 percent of dealers at Foxwoods have voted to join the United Auto Workers, which represents more than 6,000 casino workers. It made no difference to the court that the tribe had enacted its own labor laws to deal with union organizing efforts. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation will appeal to the NLRB and perhaps to the Supreme Court. We can only hope that they prevail.
What happened to Foxwoods can happen to any other Indian run casino now that a court has obviated the rule of tribal laws. Indeed, every Indian run casino now has a union target on its back.
Unions are opportunists, and wherever they see a burgeoning business with thousands of non-union workers, they zero in for their attack. And the Indian casino industry generates about $26 billion in annual revenues. Imagine, for a moment, the amount of union dues that will now flow into UAW coffers.
For the unions, tribal rules, traditions, and laws are no longer obstacles to their organizing efforts. It’s shameful.
