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United Auto Workers File Union Petition Before NLRB

On September 28th, 2007, The United Auto Workers filed a petition before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking an election to make a union for the 3,000 dealers working at the Foxwoods Resort Casino. The union officials said that the move is the biggest union effort in Connecticut in ten years. It is also the first union effort at a tribal casino.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said that this unionization effort is unprecedented and will be beneficial for tribal casinos all over the country. The petition came after UAW officials said that majority of the 3,000 dealers had signed the cards supporting the unionization plan of the UAW.

At least 30% of the dealers had to sign the cards to pursue an election. The election is managed by the NLRB. United Auto Workers officials commented that they had started getting signatures in a bid to gather the casino workers at Foxwoods under one union.

The casino in Mashantucket is operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and has 11,430 staff members. 15 year poker dealer Steve Peloso said that they have been waiting for this development for a number of years now. They are already tired of the abuses by casino officials like not giving health benefits and others.

Peloso commented that the minimum pay for dealers is $4.50 per hour with the majority of their incomes coming from customers. Foxwoods officials have been blocking the union drive, telling their employees that they will to pay union fees and may even lose some of their benefits during union/management negotiations.

On February 2007, Foxwoods announced a 5 percent raise for employees and benefits for the employees. Casino dealers who have supported the union drive commented that casino officials never gave the increase. Foxwoods officials remain mum about the issue.

A federal appeals court decided earlier this year that Indian tribe owned casinos are covered by the NLRB which sets up the rules and regulation that are needed in forming a union. Tribal gaming has grown into a $22 billion market annually, bigger than the gaming industry in Las Vegas.

There are about 250,000 employees that are working in tribal casinos all over the country. Some Indian tribe casinos in the state of California are under a union but most employees at Indian-owned casinos are not unionized. Unions have been working hard to unionize these casinos but they are having a hard time without the National Labor Relations Act.

 

Thursday, October 25 , 2007
Brian Letendre