Union to vote on first contract with San Diego County tribe

Thursday, Oct. 14, 1999 | 9:48 a.m.

The CWA and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians have reached a tentative agreement on a two-year contract at the tribe's casino, 30 miles east of San Diego.

If the deal is approved by union membership, the Viejas Band would increase wages and benefits a combined 15 percent for nearly 700 service and maintenance workers.

CWA members at the Viejas Casino and Turf Club will vote on the contract over two days, said Michael Hartigan, executive vice president of the union's Local 9400.

"As always, we wanted more but this is an equitable agreement," Hartigan said.

Results of the vote will be available Saturday and the contract would take effect immediately if it is ratified, he added.

The agreement came on the heels of a compact the Viejas and 56 other tribes signed last month with Gov. Gray Davis to legalize Indian gambling and allow the expansion of slot machines on tribal lands from 18,000 to about 43,000.

California's tribes have been operating gambling facilities without the compacts mandated under federal law, but their casinos will become legal if voters approve the compacts in March.

Union organizing was an issue during compact negotiations. Unions have wanted the right to organize workers at the state's more than 40 tribal casinos but have been unable to get access because tribal sovereignty exempts them from national labor laws.

The CWA got access to the Viejas casino because the tribe agreed to allow organizers there. Davis initially sought a provision that would allow unions to organize workers at the casinos, but it was not included in the compacts signed by 57 tribes. A compact signed with the Agua Caliente tribe near Palm Springs did include a provision allowing union organizing at the casinos.

In January, the CWA won the right to represent food, beverage, housekeeping and maintenance workers at the casino in Alpine.

The tentative agreement includes a provision for renegotiating wages in the second year of the contract and an additional 8 percent in compensation for union members who join an incentive program run by the casino.

It also sets policies on such basic benefits as pay for sick days, jury duty and working on holidays. The contract would also establish a binding grievance and arbitration procedure.

Viejas Business Enterprises Chief Executive Officer John Winkelman called the contract "mutually beneficial to all parties," in a statement released by the tribe.

The Viejas band earlier signed a compact with then-Gov. Pete Wilson that allowed it to keep 1,132 video slot machines only if the tribe remained neutral if casino employees wanted to unionize. That compact will be replaced by the Davis compact if it receives voter approval.

The Viejas Band has about 2,000 employees and also operates an outlet center on its reservation in Alpine. The tribe also owns a majority stake in Borrego Springs National Bank and in July purchased a cruise ship, the Enchanted Sun, in partnership with Commodore Cruise Lines.