Column: No retaliation for union at Pequot casino

Wednesday, October 8, 2008  

"How tempting would it be, if you were the Mashantucket Pequots, to use the occasion of choosing the 700 employees you need to lay off from jobs at Foxwoods into a revenge crusade, targeting all those who were instrumental in union organizing efforts at the casino?

Very, I'd say.

After all, some might suggest, life gives you lemons, in the form of declining revenues and cost-cutting mandates, and so why not make lemonade, purging the casino of all the troublemakers?

You could even turn it into a conscience-assuaging move. After all, you might convince yourself that those people aren't really happy here anyway, right?

This is a scenario that might be especially troubling to some employees at Foxwoods, where the anxiety level has been distressingly high in general since last week's announcement that 6 percent of the workforce will have to go.

If I were a prominent employee/organizer I'd sure be worried.

However, Lori Potter, a tribal spokesman, said this week, when asked, that union sympathizers would not be singled out in layoff decisions.

”We are not targeting any individuals or departments based on what they believe or who they support,” she said.

I believe that is true."

Get the Story:
David Collins: Foxwoods Won't Mix Layoffs, Fight With Unions (The New London Day 10/8)
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