Bartenders at casino owned by Pequot Tribe eye NLRB vote

Monday, June 14, 2010  

Bartenders at the casino owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut want the National Labor Relations Board to oversee an election.

Local 371 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union tried to organize under tribal law last year. But the vote failed and the union thinks it will have better luck under federal law due to the way ballots are considered and counted.

"We'd like to have an election held and supervised by the federal government," Brian Petronella, president of Local 371, told The Hartford Courant.. "A secret ballot election — that's what we're looking for."

The tribe enacted the Mashantucket Pequot Labor Relations Law . A union that wants to organize must secure approval from a majority of all eligible employees.

The National Labor Relations Act, on the other hand, only requires the approval of a majority of the employees who vote in a particular election.

Get the Story:
Foxwoods Bartenders Seek Labor Union Under U.S. Supervision (The Hartford Courant 6/14)

Related Stories:
Union seeks federal election at Mashantucket Pequot casino (6/11)