The WinStar World Casino and Resort, in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Photo from Facebook
A bill to shield tribal casinos from the National Labor Relations Board is expected to clear the Senate Indian Affairs Committee tomorrow, a Senate aide told Bloomberg DNA. The committee took testimony on S.248, the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, on April 29. The bill treats tribes and their enterprises in the same manner as states and local governments. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), a member of the committee, introduced the bill in January. The bill remains necessary even though the NLRB last week declined to assert jurisdiction at a casino owned by the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma because doing so would impact the tribe's treaty rights, one of his aides said. “The Chickasaw has a ratified treaty, but other tribes that don’t have a similar treaty are still at risk,” the aide told Bloomberg DNA.
Indianz.Com SoundCloud: Oral arguments in Soaring Eagle Casino V NLRB
The bill, for example, would protect the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe from an unfair labor practices complaint at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort. During a hearing before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on the same day the Senate committee took up S.248, an attorney said the 1855 Treaty with the Chippewa reserved "broad, general rights" of self-governance to the tribe, an argument that was rejected by the NLRB. The bill will be considered at a business meeting tomorrow at 2:15pm. The proceeding won't be webcast but C-SPAN will carry an audio-only feed. Get the Story:
NLRB Says Federal Labor Law Doesn't Apply To Indian-Owned Casino Protected by Treaty (Bloomberg BNA 6/8) National Labor Relations Board Decisions:
Chickasaw Nation: June 4, 2015 | Chickasaw Nation: July 12, 2013 | Saginaw Chippewa Tribe: October 27, 2014 | Saginaw Chippewa Tribe: April 16, 2013 Committee Notices:
Business Meeting to consider S. 248 (June 10, 2015)
Legislative Hearing on S. 248, the "Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2015" (April 29, 2015) From the Indianz.Com Archive:
Tribal labor law rider killed by wide margin in House (June 27, 2005)
Federal labor board expands jurisdiction over tribes (June 4, 2004)
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