The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut plans to challenge a pro-union vote at its Foxwoods Resort Casino.

About 60 percent of card dealers at the casino voted to organize with the United Auto Workers union. Turnout was high -- about 77 percent -- in the election on Saturday.

The tribe, however, says federal labor laws don't apply at the casino. An appeal is being filed with the National Labor Relations Board, which authorized the election.

For decades, the NLRB said tribal enterprises were exempt from federal labor laws. But a decision in May 2005 overturned 30 years of precedent and said each situation would be examined on a case-by-case basis.

"Tribes are understandably concerned," Mark Van Norman, the executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association, told The Hartford Courant.

Get the Story:
Foxwoods to battle union win (The Norwich Bulletin 11/26)
More Union Votes Ahead? (The Hartford Courant 11/26)
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Blumenthal Urges Tribe To Negotiate With Dealers (The New London Day 11/26)
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Foxwoods Dealers OK Union (The New London Day 11/25)
Foxwoods dealers say "Yes" to union (The Norwich Bulletin 11/25)