Tribal casinos told to obey U.S. labor law

WASHINGTON — Indian tribes are subject to federal labor law, an appeals court ruled Friday in a case that could lead to stricter labor protections — and more unions — at the nation's booming Indian casinos.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected arguments from a wealthy Southern California tribe, which claimed that, as a sovereign government, it should not be subject to those laws.

"Tribal sovereignty is not absolute autonomy, permitting a tribe to operate in a commercial capacity without legal constraint," said the opinion written by Judge Janice Rogers Brown.

The ruling stemmed from an organizing dispute at a casino run by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, where a union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board arguing that another union was getting preferential access.

San Manuel contested the complaint by asserting the labor board didn't have jurisdiction because federal law recognizes Indian tribes as sovereign governments.

The labor board disagreed in a 2004 opinion that, for the first time, said tribes are covered by the National Labor Relations Act that bars unfair-labor practices and gives workers the right to organize and bargain with employers.

At stake are protections and bargaining rights for some 250,000 workers, most of them non-Indians, at the nation's 400-plus tribal casinos. The ruling comes as tribal gambling has exploded into a $22 billion-a-year industry — richer than Las Vegas — with Indian casinos in 28 states, including Washington.

There are 24 tribal casinos in Washington, according to the Washington State Gambling Commission.

A few tribal casinos in California are unionized, including San Manuel, but most workers at Indian casinos are nonunion. Unions have been trying to make inroads with the growing work force but say they've had trouble without the protection of the National Labor Relations Act.

Even though San Manuel employees have joined Communications Workers of America, the ruling could undercut the tribe's ability to deal with the union on the tribe's own terms, which critics say favor the tribe.

The tribe contends it treats its workers well, and employees at the San Manuel casino have praised conditions there.

"We are disappointed by the ruling today," said Henry Duro, chairman of the San Manuel tribe, which was backed in the case by the National Indian Gaming Association and leading tribes.

Jack Gribbon, political director for Unite Here in California, said the ruling came down on the side of "workers who are the engine behind the extremely lucrative tribal gaming industry."

If the ruling stands and tribes don't come to the table, "it creates the opportunity for a major clash, for disputes and unrest and picketing and striking," Gribbon said.

Also on the appeals panel were Judges Stephen Williams and Merrick Garland.