Casino workers demand union talks

Greg Risling

Friday, April 9, 2004 | 9:11 a.m.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Police arrested 25 people Thursday after they locked hands and blocked a street while demanding workplace rights and union talks at a downtown casino owned by the wealthy Agua Caliente tribe.

Police said the protesters would be booked on charges of unlawful assembly after ignoring an order to disperse.

Nearly 200 protesters gathered in a downtown church before marching to the Spa Resort Casino.

With them was Dolores Huerta, who helped found the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez. She and two priests were among those arrested.

Union officials trying to organize workers at the casino accused management of a range of discrimination, including sexual harassment, age bias and favoritism.

"This is about stopping the abuse," said Jennifer Skurnik, organizing director in California for the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, known in Las Vegas as the Culinary Union. "We want to appeal to the tribe and to the governor to have these problems resolved."

Ray Brown, a spokesman for the Agua Caliente tribe, denied the allegations. The tribe abides by state and federal labor laws outlined in its 1995 compact agreement with the state to operate its two casinos, he said.

Union officials said that since Indian tribes are considered sovereign nations, they are not responsible to government agencies that typically enforce workplace regulations.

The organizers also said they have approached the tribe about a possible collective bargaining agreement but received no response. The tribe countered that workers have not told management they want to unionize.

The rally came as leaders of California tribes are conducting secret negotiations with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to renew portions of the compacts that allow 61 tribes to operate casinos in California.

Casino employees want to make sure guarantees of their rights are included in the new deals.

Among the workers at Thursday's rally was Denise De Groff, 49, of Thousand Palms.

She said she was fired last year from her job as a slot machine technician for insubordination but not given any specifics about the action.

She was told she could apply for a different position and now works as a casino maintenance engineer.

De Groff believes she was fired over her complaints about working in the smoke-filled casino. She also claims her supervisor disliked her because she is openly gay.

"I want to help the cause," she said. "I'm willing to stay, because I can't walk away from what's going on at the casino."