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Robert Odawi Porter: Labor unions try to confiscate tribal wealth

Why does a tribal exemption from the National Labor Relations Act serve the national interest? Because doing so preserves tribal government revenues that are needed to support tribal government services and economies.

Tribal casinos are not private enterprises and, by law, must be owned by tribal governments. With the advent of tribal gaming 30 years ago, tribes have been able to move billions in investment capital to places where previously no investment was occurring.

This investment has created thousands of well-paying jobs for Indians and non-Indians. There is no labor crisis in Indian Country and unionization of tribal workers is unnecessary.

National labor unions want to organize the tribal casino workforce so they can artificially raise wages, raise money by assessing mandatory dues, and shift control of workers away from tribal governments to them. If they succeed, a unionized workforce will transfer millions of dollars of gaming revenues away from tribal governments for unnecessary wage increases and payments to union leaders.