First tribe to sign labor deal hopes union will be good national ally

Michelle DeArmond

Tuesday, March 21, 2000 | 9:20 a.m.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - The first California tribe to sign a deal with a labor union hopes the relationship will benefit more than just the workers: Officials are betting it will strengthen the tribe's national bargaining power.

The unique arrangement between the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians and the Communication Workers of America led to a worker-approved contract that went into effect in October. The deal followed a hostile battle between tribes and another labor union bent on organizing workers on the sovereign reservations.

Viejas Chairman Anthony Pico revealed Monday some of the tribe's political reasons for agreeing to let the union onto its thriving reservation, where workers and union organizers enacted the only tribal-union contract in effect in California. Nationally, such deals also are virtually unheard of.

"Some of this was driven by the tribe itself because we felt that the unions were natural allies with Native Americans," Pico said. "We have to defend our rights any way we can."

Pico made his remarks at the three-day California Indian Gaming Summit, an industry-sponsored meeting that gave tribes a chance to exchange ideas, and businesspeople an opportunity to find out how to tap into the state's booming tribal casino industry.

Tribal sovereignty is under threat, Pico said, and he hoped working with the CWA might give Indians a louder voice in Congress. Pico pointed to proposals to revise the federal tax code to treat tribes like corporations instead of governments as evidence of the threat.

Such an arrangement would make tribes with successful businesses subject to hefty corporate taxes from which they are currently exempt.

The CWA's support of California tribes during its first ballot initiative battle also played a role in Viejas' decision to give the union access to its workers, Pico said.

Tribal governments are exempt from the National Labor Relations Act, a fact that has frustrated the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union. The powerful union, which represents the majority of Las Vegas casino service employees, opposed the 1998 ballot initiative because it didn't give them access to the reservations.

That opposition, which was combined with hefty donations from Nevada companies, angered California tribes. The few tribes that agreed to allow their workers to consider organizing, gave exclusive rights to the CWA to talk their workers.

About 60 of the state's roughly 107 Indian tribes are expected to operate casinos as a result of a constitutional amendment approved by voters March 7, legalizing Las Vegas-style slot machines and card games on reservations in the nation's most populous state.

Under compacts negotiated with Gov. Gray Davis and enacted under the constitutional amendment, workers have the right to petition for labor union representation. Consequently, the hotel employees' union did not fight the constitutional amendment that went before voters after the 1998 measure was overturned in court.

Pico warned, however, that any labor union that wants to deal with tribes must remember each one is its own government and must treat them with respect.

"If you have someting to offer tribes that helps us achieve self-sufficiency, approach us in a respectful manner, and are open to honest communication and compromise, you will probably succeed," he said.

Micheal J. Hartigan, executive vice president of the local CWA, said his union is trying to organize at two other southern California casinos. The workers at the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians' casino have agreed to representation, and a contract is being hammered out that workers will vote on in a few months, he said.

Organizers are trying get representation at the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians' casino, but have yet to even get worker approval to represent them.

The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union also has been working aggressively to organize workers there. The union has criticized tribes in the past for giving CWA special access.

Some Pechanga workers have met with the hotel workers' union in hopes of getting an impartial body to look out for workers and handle complaints, such as a lack of sick leave, high costs for health insurance and forced overtime.

Pechanga and other tribal leaders insist their employees enjoy good working conditions.

The three-day conference at the Riviera Resort & Racquet Club, which ends today, is sponsored by companies that hope to do business with tribal casinos, such as slot machine makers and architectural firms. Casino companies Bally Gaming and Anchor Gaming, also were sponsors.