Who controls Congress after the November election will be of special interest to gaming tribes who insist that the National Labor Relations Act should not apply to them.
The Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, H.R.511, which is largely being pushed by Republicans and generally opposed by Democrats, is being pushed to the back burner until after the election. There is a chance that one or both houses of Congress could flip this year.
The bill has seen a lot of activity in the House but none in the Senate.
Supporters might try to have the bill put as a rider to an “omnibus” appropriations bill in the lame duck session that will follow the election.
The issue of tribal sovereignty and labor laws was largely a non-issue until 2004 when the National Labor Relations Board began asserting that it had that authority.
President Obama opposes H.R. 511 and has said it will only support such a bill “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.”
