The House of Representatives has passed the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2015, H.R. 511, which would remove tribes from the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board, including tribal casinos. The vote was 249-177.
Proponents hope that the Senate will take up the bill next spring. Proponents include Senator John Barrasso, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
The bill has achieve bipartisan support, but still faces still opposition, including tough criticism from the White House.
Labor unions are bitterly opposed to the bill, which would make it harder to organize workers in the $28.5 Indian gaming industry.
Since 2004 the NLRB has claimed jurisdiction over Indian casinos, rather than on tribal governmental employees, in part because tribal casinos largely employ non-Indians. Tribal leaders have been asking for Congress to intervene almost as long.
“Tribal leaders have repeatedly spoken out against this overreach, and Congress has listened,” declared House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy before the vote.
New Mexico Rep. Steve Pearce, who voted for the bill, commented “Today’s bill will provide Native American Tribes the sovereignty and autonomy they deserve, ensuring they have the same business rights as states and local governments.”
Pearce added, “The current system is yet another example of the federal government involving itself when it should not, and hindering the ability for families and communities to prosper. Increased bureaucracy and federal mandates have significant negative impacts on businesses everywhere and are especially damaging on Native American reservations. Removing this overly burdensome federal red tape provides Native American businesses the certainty they need to add jobs, expand their business and better their communities’ economies.”
The White House opposes the bill because, it says, the White House Office of Management and Budget claims there are not enough protections for non-Indian employees.
In a statement the White House said it is “possible to protect both tribal sovereignty and workers’ rights, and the administration can only support approaches that accomplish that result,” the statement read. “Therefore, the administration can support a bill which recognizes tribal sovereignty in formulating labor relations law and exempts tribes from the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board only if the tribes adopt labor standards and procedures applicable to tribally-owned and operated commercial enterprises reasonably equivalent to those in the National Labor Relations Act.”
