Legislation | Meetings

Rep. McCollum vows support for Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act

Monday, June 29, 2015

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota) speaks at the National Congress of American Indians mid-year session in St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 29, 2015. Photo from Twitter

A key Democrat is supporting the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, a bill that shields tribal casinos from federal labor law.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota), the co-chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus, hasn't signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R.511. But she plans to vote for it on the House floor.

McCollum announced her position during remarks to the National Congress of American Indians today. NCAI's Policy Research Center shared her comments on Twitter during the organization's mid-year session in St. Paul.

"Tribal governments play a distinct and essential role in defending the rights of tribal nations," McCollum said during her speech, according to a post from her Twitter account.

The House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions held a hearing on H.R.511 on June 16. McCollum isn't a member of the panel but she issued a statement after a witness delivered some inflammatory testimony about tribal sovereignty.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota) speaks at the National Congress of American Indians mid-year session in St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 29, 2015. Photo from Twitter

That prompted UNITE Here, a labor union that opposes the bill, to criticize McCollum. NCAI and the National Indian Gaming Association quickly rushed to her defense, calling her a "champion of Indian Country."

"Representative McCollum has never wavered in her support of the hard working union members in her district, just as she has never wavered in her support of tribal sovereignty," NCAI President Brian Cladoosby and NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens said in the joint letter. "NCAI and NIGA have come together to ask the tribal nations of our respective organizations to never waver in their support of Representative McCollum and the many other members who are supporting fairness for tribal governments."

H.R.511 has not been scheduled for a markup before the full House Committee on Education and the Workforce. It's likely to gain passage if it does, a move that would clear the measure for action on the House floor.

The GOP-controlled Senate Indian Affairs Committee already approved S.248, an identical version of the bill. The Senate has yet to schedule a vote.

But even if neither chamber takes action, lawmakers will have to contend with a policy rider in a must-pass appropriations bill. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), who serves as the other co-chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus, inserted language that bars the National Labor Relations Board from enforcing the National Labor Relations Act "against any Indian tribe, including any enterprise or institution owned and operated by an Indian tribe and located on its Indian lands."

The House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2016 Labor, Health and Human Services bill on June 24. The NLRB rider can be found in Section 409 of the package.

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)