Been following this story for a few months and actually spoke to some workers at Foxwood around Christmas. Good for them, they were starving for representation.
From a UAW press release 3-14-08
UAW at Foxwoods' union election upheldRelated links from UnionReview:
HARTFORD, Conn. - In an important victory for workers rights, NLRB Administrative Law Judge Raymond P. Green today upheld November's overwhelming vote by casino dealers at Foxwoods to form their own union.
This ruling dismisses all of Foxwoods' objections to the election and clears the way for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify the union election results.
"We are thrilled that Judge Green affirmed that our election was a free and fair measure of the will of the dealers," said Denise Gladue, a dual-rate dealer in Table Games. "We have won every ruling and we won our election by a decisive margin. We have waited long enough. Management needs to respect our majority, recognize our union, and negotiate a fair contract."
Casino dealers voted Nov. 24 by a 3-to-2 margin in favor of unionization. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Foxwoods filed objections to the election, trying to get it overturned. The charges claimed that voters did not understand the ballot or the meaning of the union election. They also alleged misconduct by the union including threats and intimidation. All of the allegations were dismissed.
"We speak many languages, but we all know how to say, 'Union Yes!' And everybody who works here knew exactly what our election was about: We want a union!" said Wei Ching Siu, a part-time Table Games dealer. "My coworkers and I want a healthy workplace, wages and benefits we can count on, and we want respect. We all knew what we were voting for - a huge majority of us worked hard to win our union."
"Gaming employees have a definite home in our union," said Elizabeth Bunn, secretary-treasurer of the International Union, UAW. "The dealers at Foxwoods join a growing tide of casino workers standing together and standing up for a voice on the job."
The UAW represents more than 8,000 gaming employees nationally, including workers in Atlantic City, N.J.; Newport, R.I.; Evansville, Ind.; and Detroit.
"We are very proud to stand with the Foxwoods workers in fighting for good jobs in southeastern Connecticut," said Bob Madore, director of UAW Region 9A. "From the beginning, the Foxwoods dealers have been very impressive in standing together.
Read Full Press Release
2 comments:
You totally beat me to it. I was going to put up a story on this and link back to a piece I wrote on the original vote. When does the NLRB certify the vote? Any idea?
Also, what do you think of the latest NLRB suggested regulatory changes? There was a short analysis on this at unbossed last week.
You can use whatever you like from here if you link back, at least thats what I do when I repost stuff, we don't always have the time to create a new story from scratch. I believe that the NLRB certifies the vote the day of the vote, unless it is contested, but I am by no means a guru of that process. The tribe went through other legal means to overturn the union vote. The NLRB made a decision on 10-23 that the workers had a right to a vote. The tribe then lost an appeal, then they went to the Fed's to appeal. As far as the new regulations, I would need to review it.
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