Indian Gaming

The casino operated by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan falls under federal labor law, the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Wednesday.

The National Labor Relations Act doesn't specifically mention tribes or their enterprises. Nevertheless, the board asserted jurisdiction over the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort due to its "commercial" nature.

"Operating a casino on tribal land is not an exercise of self-governance of a purely intramural matter," the board said in its decision.

The NLRB first asserted jurisdiction over tribal enterprises in a 2004 case involving the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians. Tribal businesses that employ non-Indians or affect non-Indians are now coming under federal labor law.

"The [Soaring Eagle] casino serves predominantly non tribal customers, competes with nontribal casinos, and employs mostly nontribal members. Moreover, the tribe’s operation of the casino, a commercial enterprise, is not vital to its ability to govern itself," the NLRB said in the Saginaw Chippewa decision.

The decision follows a similar one involving the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, also in Michigan. The tribe is appealing to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Both the Saginaw Chippewa and Little River decisions were signed by all three of the current members of the NLRB. At least two of them -- Richard F. Griffin, Jr. and Sharon Block -- were installed by President Barack Obama through recess appointment.

Recess appointments have been troublesome for Obama. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in January ruled that some of his appointees to the NLRB were invalid because the Senate was actually in session when he made them.

Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2010 ruled that the NLRB must have at least two members to make decisions. If Griffin and Block were somehow deemed to be invalid, the Saginaw Chippewa and Little River decisions might not stand.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the Saginaw Chippewa NLRB case, Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, an Enterprise of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michi- gan and International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America and from the Little River 6th Circuit case, Little River Band v. NLRB.

Get the Story:
Native American tribes challenge NLRB jurisdiction (Reuters 4/18)

NLRB Decisions:
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort [PDF] (April 16, 2013)
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Tribal Government [PDF] (March 18, 2013)

Related Stories:
Little River Band won't accept NLRB jurisdiction over casino (03/22)