Opinion: Sen. McCain's link to anti-union casino

Friday, October 17, 2008  

"When scores of dealers and their supporters rallied at Connecticut’s Foxwoods Casino last May for their right to representation by United Auto Workers Region 9A, which they had voted for overwhelmingly, passersby were quick to honk in support.

A year earlier, Sen. John McCain enjoyed a gambling weekend at Foxwoods with lobbyists Scott Reed and Rick Davis, in seeming conflict of interest with his role as chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Davis is now McCain’s campaign manager.

Casino management ties to McCain, exposed last month in The New York Times, come as no surprise. McCain is an ardent foe of workers’ right to organize.

Foxwoods’ management is refusing to recognize the dealers’ union vote on the grounds that the casino, located on Mashantucket Pequot sovereign territory, should be exempt from National Labor Relations Board rulings.

Because the casino is a corporate entity at which nearly all workers and customers are not tribe members, a court ruled that the casino workers are covered by the NLRB."

Get the Story:
Paul Neal: McCain links to anti-union casino no surprise to workers (People's World Weekly 10/17)