Foxwood's Dealers Unionize

On 11/24/07 the card dealers at Foxwoods voted to unionize under the United Auto Workers. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns Foxwoods, tried to stop the election. The Tribe argued that the UAW should not be allowed to hold an election which would subject the Tribe to the laws of the United States government. The Tribe wanted the card dealers to file a petition to unionize according to Tribal law. The National Labor Relations Board disagreed with the Tribe and ordered that the vote be held. The card dealers voted 1289 to 852 to have the UAW represent them.

The Tribe has filed a complaint with the NLRB about the election process, and hearings have been held on several contentious issues. The decision to allow the UAW vote against the Tribe’s wishes could affect many aspects of tribal sovereignty. The Tribe argues that it should be able to run its businesses according to Tribal law. The Tribe maintains that it has not tried to deny workers the opportunity to organize, but it insists that it should be able to control the process of unionization in accordance with its authority as a sovereign nation.

Robert Madore, the United Auto Workers Director for Region 9a, dismissed the Tribe's claims about sovereignty. “I don't believe the issue is sovereignty. I think it's just an attempt on their part to not accept the will of the work force…” he said. Jackson King, the Tribe's attorney, disagreed. “We aren't anti-union,” he said. “We believe employees have the right to form a union and bargain collectively and we asked the employees to file their petition under Tribal law, but they have not done it. This is not about the right of employees to unionize. The is about whether you respect the law or not.” Mashantucket Pequot tribal law includes tribal preference laws, and an employee rights code which could run into conflict with federal labor laws. In addition, other tribal law issues, such as whether the union should be able to sue the tribe under federal law, are at stake.

The Tribe's appeal of the UAW election could likely take a long time. After filing objections to the election with the NLRB, the Tribe could take the appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Another Tribe, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians brought a similar appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Band was also fighting the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board. However, the Appeals Court found that the Band was subject to federal labor law.

One difference between the Mashantucket Pequot's case and the San Manuel Band's is that the Band did not have tribal laws in place that would have allowed a union election. Whether this fact will help the Tribe retain its sovereignty on this labor issue remains to be seen.