The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan won't be complying with an order from the National Labor Relations Board that affects its casino.
The NLRB ordered the tribe to rehire an employee of the Soaring Eagle Casino
& Resort who tried to organize a union. But the tribe said it will continue to fight the agency in the federal court system.
“The Tribe has a right to appeal the Board’s decision and does not have to comply with the Board’s order unless and until the Tribe ultimately loses its case at the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court,” the tribe said in a proposed advertisement in The Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun.
The National
Labor Relations Act, which was first passed in 1935, does not mention tribes or their enterprises. But the NLRB has repeatedly used the law to assert jurisdiction over casinos that employ or affect non-Indians, starting in 2004 with an unprecedented ruling that has been upheld in the courts.
The agency's latest decision on October 27 affected the activities of one union at the casino. Just last week, a different union tried to organize but failed to garner enough support, the tribe said.
"I have the upmost confidence in our associates and their ability to make an informed and well thought out decision," Chief Steve Pego said in a press release. "We have some of the finest people working with us and we are proud of the service and product that we provide."
The NLRB case is Soaring
Eagle Casino and Resort, An Enterprise of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of
Michigan.
Get the Story:
Tribe continues to challenge federal labor law jurisdiction
(The Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun 11/14)
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