Mashantuckets reject talks with UAW

[Earth Bound Misfit]

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=22cca739-4d20-4c8e-b4e2-158e6d2ed252

Tribe again raises sovereignty issue, refuses to acknowledge NLRB certification of employees' vote in favor of union

By Heather Allen Published on 7/11/2008

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation refused Thursday to bargain collectively with the United Auto Workers union, which is working on behalf of nearly 3,000 poker and table-game dealers at the tribe's Foxwoods Resort Casino.

The refusal, sent in letter form, came as no surprise. The tribe has repeatedly vowed to fight decisions by the National Labor Relation Board to hold a union election at the tribally owned and operated casino and then to certify the election results, which allowed the UAW to request that negotiations begin.

While the process involving the two parties has already been long, the tribe's formal refusal to bargain is the first step of what is expected to be a lengthy appeal that could possibly reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

General Counsel Jackson T. King Jr., who penned the letter, laid out the tribe's belief that the NLRB lacks jurisdiction over the tribe because it is a sovereign nation.

”We know that you disagree with the Tribal Nation's position on jurisdiction,” King wrote. “Nevertheless we trust that the UAW, as an organization publicly committed to civil liberties, will understand and respect the Tribal Nation's need to seek legal redress when it feels its fundamental rights are being trampled.”

The UAW vowed to file an unfair labor practice claim with the NLRB today. Bob Madore, the director of UAW Region 9A, which includes Connecticut, said the union is “confident that workers at Foxwoods will prevail over management's latest attempt to deny them their fundamental right to collectively bargain for a contract.

”If Foxwoods truly respects its workers,” Madore said in a statement, “it will honor their decision to form a union and come to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract.”

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal weighed in Thursday, again urging the tribe and casino management to “respect the clear wishes of its dealers who voted to unionize in a free and fair election” and characterized the tribe's mission to appeal as “its hopeless resistance to Foxwoods' employees' clear legal right to organize.”

Those who think they are going to see a quick resolution to this issue are “just kidding themselves,” said Daniel Schwartz, a Hartford-based labor and employment attorney at Pullman and Comley.....

Once the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation files with the court of appeals, Blumenthal said he will also join the lawsuit as a formal party.

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[Omaha Steve]

1. This is the state's largest employer

Will they ever put teeth in labor laws? K&R!