Lawmakers say bill is anti-worker

WASHINGTON—The Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing yesterday on the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2017, H.R. 986. This bill would strip workers of their protections under the National Labor Relations Act at any commercial enterprise owned and operated by an Indian tribe that is located on tribal lands.

This bill arises from a dispute between two competing principles: the sovereign rights that Indian tribes possess in matters of local self-government, and the rights of workers to organize, bargain collectively, and engage in concerted activities for mutual aid and protection. Rather than attempting to reconcile these competing interests, H.R. 986 chooses sovereignty for some over the rights of others.

“I am a Chamorro, one of the native people of the Northern Marianas, and fully appreciate the importance of tribal sovereignty for Native Americans” said Rep. Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP), a ranking member of the subcommittee. “But I also believe deeply in workers’ right to organize, to collectively bargain, and to protect their right to fight for a safe workplace, fair pay to provide a living for themselves and their families and good benefits.”

The Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2017 is designed to overturn a National Labor Relations Board decision in San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino that, under a Bush-era NLRB (by a 3-1 bipartisan vote), asserted jurisdiction over a tribal casino on tribal lands. The NLRB will exercise jurisdiction over tribal enterprises, unless doing so would: (1) interfere with tribal rights of self-governance in purely intramural matters (2) abrogate rights guaranteed by treaty or (3) be contrary to congressional intent (via “proof” in the legislative history or statutory language).

Since this decision, the NLRB has asserted jurisdiction over a number of tribal casinos. Nationwide 75% of the employees in tribal casinos are not members of a tribe, and would lose protections of the NLRA should this law be enacted.

In some cases tribes have adopted tribal labor ordinances that respect workers’ rights, and in other cases unions have adopted ordinances where unions are expressly forbidden from setting foot on tribal lands. Except for the NLRA, there is no national minimum standard for the 567 recognized Indian tribes.

“While UNITE HERE workers enjoy the protections of Tribal Labor Ordinances at a number of casinos in California, they rely upon the National Labor Relations Act as a backstop if a TLRO is weakened or not enforced,” said Jack Gribbon, California political director of UNITEHERE. “This could happen when or if a state-tribal compact is amended in the future. The elimination of NLRA jurisdiction over tribal enterprises would undermine these collective bargaining agreements in tribal casinos and in many other commercial enterprises owned and operated by tribes in our country.”

The sovereign rights of Native American tribes must be balanced along with the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain. Unfortunately, enacting the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2017 weakens workers’ ability to bargain for their fair share of wealth they create for tribes. (PR)