Union says Foxwoods coerced witnesses in labor dispute

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--foxwoods-unioncom0201feb01,0,5457990.story

4:19 PM EST, February 1, 2008

HARTFORD, Conn. - A union seeking to represent dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino filed a complaint Friday with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the casino forced a dealer to testify on behalf of management at a federal labor hearing.

The United Auto Workers wants the NLRB to investigate what it calls management coercion of witnesses at a recent labor board hearing on the union vote.

The union said Foxwoods interrogated employees regarding testimony they were going to present at the hearing.

The casino owners, the Mashantucket Pequots, filed complaints with the labor board after dealers voted 1,289 to 852 in favor of a union.

The tribe claimed the UAW intimidated workers as it sought to unionize them. The union has denied those claims.


FULL story at link.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

1. Judge Upholds Foxwoods Union Vote

:hi: Thanks for the great forum! Hello everybody!

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080314/ct_foxwoods_union.html?.v=2

Judge Finds No Misconduct in Foxwoods Labor Union Vote

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A federal judge has upheld a vote by Foxwoods Resort Casino dealers to unionize, ruling that there was no misconduct by the United Auto Workers before the election in November. Administrative Law Judge Raymond P. Green concluded that Foxwoods did not prove union organizers intimidated casino workers to get them to vote in favor of joining the UAW.

"To a large extent, the evidence presented by the employer related to statements and conduct by unidentified people or unidentified employees," Green wrote in a decision dated Tuesday and released Friday. "And in the case of the alleged threat to cause deportations, this was based on unadorned hearsay allegedly heard by an unidentified friend who told the witness that she was told this by some other unidentified person," the judge added.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns the casino, said in a statement Friday that it will ask officials at the National Labor Relations Board's headquarters in Washington, D.C., to review the ruling.

"We are pursuing these objections to ensure that our employees are given the right to cast their vote using a ballot that they understand, and to do so in an atmosphere free from intimidation and harassment," the tribe said...

Tribal officials had argued that the tribe and Foxwoods were not subject to the labor board's jurisdiction, but a federal court ruled in February that federal labor law applies to Indian tribes and their gambling businesses.

They also accused union officials of intimidating workers by telling them they were keeping lists of dealers, whether they voted and how they voted, and threatening to get them fired if they did not support the union. They alleged union representatives harassed and threatened to harm dealers who did not support unionization.

Foxwoods also claimed ballots were only available in English despite the large number of workers who speak other languages.

"There is no basis for crediting the employer's witnesses over the union's witnesses," the judge wrote. "I must find that these allegations lack merit."

[Omaha Steve]

2. We continue to see new faces

I'll be offline for awhile after my shoulder surgery. I hope others can keep up the activity.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

3. Hope all goes well for you

with your surgery. I have been reading this & other forums for a while & finally registered--this can become quite addicting!:rofl:

[Earth Bound Misfit]

4. I will do what I can, You, and many others do GREAT "stuff" here! n/t