JUDGE UPHOLDS UNION VICTORY AT FOXWOODS

JUDGE UPHOLDS UNION VICTORY AT FOXWOODS

  Judge Raymond Green of the National Labor Relations Board upheld an election in which Bartenders, Beverage Servers, Lounge Hosts and Bar Porters voted to be represented by UFCW Local 371.  The judge rejected a claim by Foxwoods that the Union and its supporters had made appeals to prejudice against members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe.

   Judge Green found that statements by the Union and its supporters "are not demeaning to members of the [Mashantucket Pequot Tribe] or to Native Americans in any way. They do not ... appeal to racial or ethnic stereotypes and cannot, in my opinion, be construed as inflammatory.  They simply state a fact: that the casino has a policy of granting seniority preference to tribal members.

   "This is another victory for these workers," said Thomas Wilkinson, President of the UFCW Local 371.   "The judge recognizes that employees benefit from the protection of a union in difficult economic times." The judge's decision notes that it is reasonable for employees to be concerned about seniority with unemployment running at close to 10%.

"I hope the casino will accept this decision and the vote of the majority," said Nicole Rufo, a beverage server.  "We are not looking to hurt the casino. We are looking for a way to work with them so that we can all move forward together."

"We were disappointed that the casino chose to base their objections to our election on race,'" said Liz Devlin Noon, a bartender.  "I think this was a ploy by the management of the casino and their lawyers to drive a wedge between the workers and the Tribe.  The Judge understood that we are just concerned about protecting our jobs and the seniority we have earned in years of working at Foxwoods. I hope the Tribal Council will understand what we were saying, and will not be misled by the arguments of the lawyers.  Those arguments have now been thoroughly discredited."

Foxwoods has until December 1, 2010 to decide whether to file an appeal.

http://www.theday.com/article/20101106/BIZ02/311069852/1019&town