Editorial: A historic union contract at Pequot casino

Thursday, January 28, 2010  

"The tentative agreement announced Tuesday by casino dealers working for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is not only historic, but a testament to perseverance.

Shortly after Foxwoods Resort Casino opened 18 years ago next month, organized labor sized up the Mashantucket Pequot enterprise as fertile recruitment territory and dispatched scouts to work it. The early push was to organize food and beverage workers, but almost two decades later labor's ultimate victory could arrive on the shoulders of 2,500 table-games dealers who will vote on a proposed two-year contract Friday.

The tribe's recent financial problems - its ongoing attempt to restructure $2 billion in debt - likely hastened agreement on the pact that UAW Local 2121 is recommending to its members. We suspect lenders pressured the tribe to resolve the labor dispute as a condition of restructuring.

Regardless, the proposed pact is significant because tribal, not federal, law guided the negotiations. The Mashantucket Pequots maintain that was the only way to protect sovereignty and argued their case to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Had the UAW not acquiesced, the dispute could have landed before the U.S. Supreme Court, raising the sovereignty stakes even higher."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Historic contract (The New London Day 1/28)

Earlier Story:
Mashantucket casino dealers vote on union contract (1/27)