The
Morongo Band of Mission Indians is in a dispute with a labor union that's representing employees at the tribe's casino in southern California.
Some employees at the
Morongo Casino Resort
and Spa voted last summer to join International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 47, according to
documents filed with the National Labor Relations Board. But the tribe has rejected a contract with the union and now the
California Labor Federation is calling for a boycott of the facility, The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
“IBEW Local 47 believes the Morongo Tribe Council and Negotiating Committee negotiated a settlement with workers in bad faith to circumvent the collective bargaining process,” the federation said in a statement quoted by the paper.
The union has since filed a new complaint against the casino. According to
NLRB documents, the allegation is based on "Refusal to Bargain/Bad Faith Bargaining."
Tribal enterprises, especially casinos, are subject to federal labor law in certain situations, according to the NLRB. A 2004 ruling on the issue reversed decades of precedent.
States and local governments are not subject to federal labor law so tribes are seeking parity through the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act. Both
S.63 and
H.R.986 are awaiting consideration in the
Senate and the
House, respectively, after clearing hurdles at the committee level earlier this year
Read More on the Story:
Morongo Casino placed on union group’s no-patronize list; tribe rejects ‘bad faith’ claim
(The Riverside Press-Enterprise December 5, 2017)
From the Indianz.Com Archive:
Tribal labor
law rider killed by wide margin in House (June 27, 2005)
NCAI between 'rock and a hard place' on labor
rider (September 13, 2004)
Tribal labor
amendment fails in House vote (September 13, 2004)
Federal labor board expands jurisdiction over
tribes (June 4, 2004)
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