Scott Walker, Indian Casinos, and Unions
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Scott Walker, Indian Casinos, and Unions
Will the Wisconsin governor greenlight a controversial casino deal that’s a golden opportunity for unions?
By George Landrith
Summary: For years, a Wisconsin Indian
tribe has tried to open a new casino hun-
dreds of miles from its reservation. The
controversy over the casino has encouraged
the tribe to cut deals with labor bosses
in which the unions trade their political
support for the tribe’s agreement to help
coerce casino workers into joining unions.
Now Gov. Walker must decide whether to
approve the proposed casino.
I
ndian casinos make fertile ground for
controversy. They mix identity politics
involving a long-oppressed group;
heavy government regulation, which leads
to wheeling and dealing, favoritism and The proposed casino in Kenosha would be managed by Hard Rock International.
corruption; and the involvement of the
which they see as targets. They typically “Congress [i.e., not the states] shall have
gambling industry, labor unions, and other
pressure the Indians to use unionized la- Power . . . To regulate Commerce with
elements often considered shady.
bor in building the facilities and to agreeforeign Nations, and among the several
In Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walk- that, once the casinos open, their Indian States, and with the Indian Tribes.” Under
er must now choose whether to approve a owners will help the unions organize an 1832 court case, Indian tribes are con-
new casino in Kenosha that would be owned their workers. sidered dependent sovereign nations that
by the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin and deal directly with the federal government
Indian casinos except when Congressional legislation
managed by Hard Rock International, a
company owned by the Seminole Tribe of The origin of the Indian casino industry determines otherwise.
Florida. can be traced back to a dispute over prop-
erty taxes. In 1972, Russell and Helen Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court de-
Adding to the controversy is the fact that Bryan, a couple living on a mobile home cided the case in Bryan v. Itasca County
Walker, a possible presidential candidate in on Indian lands in Minnesota, received a (1976). In a unanimous decision by Jus-
2016, is up for re-election this year. Walker, property tax bill from Itasca County. They tice William Brennan, the court ruled that
who pushed through labor reforms in his were both members of component bands
state, famously survived a recall effort led of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Russell
by unions (which are currently pushing Bryan as an enrolled member of the White March 2014
government “investigations” of people who Earth Band of Ojibwe and Helen as an
advertised in support of Walker’s reforms). enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band Walker, Indian Casinos, Unions
Union officials relish the prospect of mak- of Ojibwe. With the help of a local Legal Page 1
ing an example of Walker by defeating him Services organization, they challenged
in November. the tax bill, which was for $147.95. Labor Notes
Page 6
Meanwhile, union officials are greatly inter- The basis for the challenge was the
ested in the proliferation of Indian casinos, provision in the U.S. Constitution that
state and local governments did not have enue was estimated at $27 billion in 2011. In the 1930s, Kenosha’s “west side”
the power to tax the property of Indians where thousands of immigrants from
Thus, many poor Indian tribes joined the
living on tribal land, absent a specific southern Italy, particularly Calabria,
gambling industry—a field in which they
Congressional grant of authority to do settled to work at Nash Motors was
had no special expertise—and found them-
so. In fact, the Court held, state and local home to a Mafia war. (Even today,
selves suddenly dependent on experts,
governments generally lack the power to Kenosha’s power brokers tend to be
such as lobbyists, for help in navigating
regulate behavior on Indian reservations. the sons and grandsons of Calabrezze
the paths of power in Washington and
immigrants.)
After the ruling, the Seminole Tribe of statehouses across America. Not surpris-
Florida built a high-stakes bingo hall, open ingly, scandals erupted, including one In the early 1960s, gangland efforts to
six days a week, on a reservation near involving lobbyist and former College muscle in on the business of a local
Fort Lauderdale, contrary to a Florida law Republicans chairman Jack Abramoff, pinball operator ended up with the
limiting bingo halls to two-day-a-week who was found guilty of various offenses entrepreneur’s body found in a shal-
operation and $100 jackpots. Arrests were related to taking unfair advantage of the low grave outside the city, his mouth
made, and the tribe sued and won. Even- Indians. filled with pinballs. The outrage
tually, Indian tribes around the country, caused then-Attorney General Robert
In 2004, the FBI and the National Indian F. Kennedy to call the city “a training
many of them impoverished, began to
Gaming Commission created the Indian ground for the Mafia.”
pursue various forms of gambling, includ-
Gaming Working Group, bringing experts
ing casinos—though this led to a disparity In a recent television investigative
on Indian affairs together with experts
among the tribes, with the success of such series run by the CBS-affiliate in
on organized crime, money laundering,
operations dependent largely on reserva- Milwaukee, WDJT, it was revealed
bribery of public officials, and other fields
tions’ proximity to major highways and that several local clergymen and at
related to the gambling industry.
population centers. least one public official claimed that
The Kenosha project they were threatened for their anti-
Indian casinos are regulated by the federal
The Menominee are an Indian nation gambling views. In addition, state At-
government under the Indian Gaming
whose territory once included Wisconsin torney General James Doyle warned
Regulatory Act of 1988, which returned
and the Upper Peninsula of present-day that the casino may open the door to
some authority to the states by requiring
Michigan. Federal recognition of the organized crime, and that Wisconsin
that casinos be built and operated under
Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin was law-enforcement is not prepared to
state-Indian compacts (which have some-
terminated in the 1950s but restored by deal with the problem.
times been used by states to impose special
taxes on the casinos). The Act created a an act of Congress in 1973. The tribe has . . . A review of crime statistics done
three-member National Indian Gaming about 8,700 members and a reservation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Commission to oversee the industry. Of in Wisconsin of approximately 356,000 last year [1999] showed that property
some 566 federally recognized tribes, square miles. crime increased in six of 12 Wiscon-
more than 240 have become involved in sin counties with casinos during their
The Menominee opened their first Las
so-called Class III gaming, a class that first six years of operation, even as
Vegas-style hotel/casino in 1987. That
includes large casinos and gambling with crime in the state declined as a whole.
complex employs some 500 people, of
high jackpots. Indian casino gambling rev- whom almost 80% are Indians or their Taking away workers’ rights
spouses. By 1998, they were pushing for During the period of dealmaking—more
Editor: Steven J. Allen the creation of a casino off the reservation than a decade and a half—leading to
Publisher: Terrence Scanlon in Kenosha. Operating a casino off the the proposed casino in Kenosha, the
Address: 1513 16th Street, NW reservation requires that land be placed Menominee negotiated many agreements
Washington, DC 20036-1480 in a federal trust. on the side, in order to gain the political
Phone: (202) 483-6900 A November 1998 referendum on the and financial support necessary for the
E-mail: sallen@CapitalResearch.org casino was bitterly contested. In Keno- project. In acquiring the option to buy
Website: CapitalResearch.org sha, a city with a population at the time the land for the Kenosha casino, the tribe
of about 85,000 people, roughly 27,000 signed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA)
Labor Watch is published by Capital voters turned out, and they approved the requiring that all of the construction jobs
Research Center, a non-partisan education proposal with 57% of the vote. be performed with unionized labor.
and research organization classified by the One opponent, Martin Edwin Anderson, “Tribal governments suffer the same
IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Reprints wrote in a Washington Times op-ed 14 foibles plaguing other layers of govern-
are available for $2.50 prepaid to Capital years ago of his concerns that gambling ment. A tribally mandated Project Labor
Research Center. would bring organized crime back to Agreement is governmental red ink to
Kenosha: protect union bosses,” said Aloysius Ho-
Page 2 Labor Watch March 2014gan, senior fellow in labor policy at the card-check allowing a more expensive employees that, once the union was
Competitive Enterprise Institute. “PLA workforce is a big step backwards.” recognized, it would have them fired
mandates routinely prohibit employment if they hadn’t signed. United Steel-
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos
of skilled workers who are incentivized/ workers instructed its organizers
(R-Rochester), who has said he supports
promoted on merit, thus excluding about to tell migrant workers they would
the casino project, said that “card checks”
9 out of 10 of U.S. construction workers. report them to immigration officials
should not be required. “I don’t support
PLAs impose outdated work rules and if they didn’t sign.
the requirement that they would be able
force workers to pay into unions. Hence
to go around without a secret election and When you can’t win by secret ballot,
PLAs jack up prices by about 18%.”
kind of strong arm people into joining the force a public vote where intimidation
Additionally, in 2007 the tribe signed a union,” Vos said. ”So my hope is that as will achieve the result you want. That is
memorandum of understanding with the Gov. Scott Walker works toward consen- exactly what the labor unions are doing in
local unions that will allow them access sus, that whole concept is thrown out.” Wisconsin to gain a foothold in the casino
to the casino to organize workers and industry.
Wisconsin currently has 24 gambling
give them a list of all workers with their
establishments, all owned by recognized As noted in the January issue of Labor
personal information. The agreement also
Indian tribes. None of them are unionized Watch, the U.S. Supreme Court recently
waives the workers’ right to have a secret
currently, and the evidence suggests they considered, briefly, a case that could affect
ballot election on whether to unionize.
have kept the unions out because neither the ability of unions to use Project Labor
The union will be recognized with as few
the tribes that own the casinos nor the Agreements under which companies help
as 30% of signed authorization cards in
workers in those casinos want them. Op- push their workers into unions. (The Court
a process known as “card check” (and,
ponents of casino unionization believe first accepted the case for review, then
as union organizers and their opponents
unions cannot win a secret ballot election, decided not to rule on it, which left the
know well, many workers sign such cards
and because of that fact, the unions opted lower court’s decision standing. But given
in order to get union organizers off their
to coerce the Menominee into allowing the differing decisions made by lower
backs, assuming a secret-ballot election
unionization through card check, if and courts in different parts of the country, the
will occur later). This kind of manage-
when the Kenosha casino ever opens. Supreme Court will eventually be obliged
ment-union agreement is being litigated
in the U.S. Supreme Court. James Sherk of the Heritage Foundation to resolve the issue.)
has studied labor and employment policy The case the Supreme Court almost de-
The PLA was celebrated by the unions for years and has outlined the problems
involved—UNITE HERE, the hotel/ cided, Unite Here Local 355 v. Mulhall,
with the card check process: involved a casino in the Miami area.
restaurant union that includes more ca-
sino workers than any other group, along With card-check, unions know who UNITE HERE had been organizing pro-
with the United Food and Commercial has signed on. They send organizers tests against the casino, hurting its busi-
Workers and the American Federation of to the homes of the remaining workers ness, so the Mardi Gras Gaming company
State, County and Municipal Employees. to press them to join. The organizers cut a deal with the union. The union would
The three unions put out a press release give the worker a one-sided pitch, end its protests and donate $100,000 to
declaring that the Menominee “have deliberately avoiding anything that a campaign for a local referendum that
signed an agreement with our three unions might make the worker less likely to would allow slot machines at the casino.
recognizing the right of the employees to join. They press the worker to com- In return, the casino management agreed
form a union. No other Indian tribe in the mit without reflecting or hearing the to let the union into the workplace to try to
Midwest has agreed to such a provision. other side. organize; management also released their
Federal law does not require them to do If a worker still decides not to sign, employees’ private contact information
that!” the organizers return to his home to make it easier for the union to contact
again and again until he changes his employees at home, and agreed to stay
Others weren’t so happy with the deal. “In neutral on the unionization itself. Finally,
mind. Many workers admit they only
an effort to garner support for their off-res- the casino management agreed to recog-
signed to get the union off their backs.
ervation Kenosha casino, the Menominee nize the union with the simple collection
Workers at the New Otani hotel in Los
Tribe bowed to union desires by agreeing of signed union authorization cards from
Angeles had to get a court injunction
to accept ‘card check,’ the easiest method the employees, depriving the employees
to stop groups of eight to 10 union
for allowing unionization,” said Brian J. of a secret-ballot election.
organizers from harassing them on
Nemoir, executive director of “Enough
their porches late at night. Opponents of this practice say it is clearly
Already! WI,” a coalition opposed to the
expansion of off-reservation gambling. In some cases, unions go so far as illegal, since companies are forbidden
“In an era where Gov. Walker and the to directly threaten workers who do by law to promote the creation of unions
legislature are working overtime to make not publicly sign up. Union officials (because such collusion raises the specter
our state economically competitive, union in Las Vegas told MGM Grand of a “company union,” a union that does
March 2014 Labor Watch Page 3the bidding of management, as well as the demonstrations and political organizing, of the impact of opening new casinos in
possibility that workers will be deprived of but with violence and intimidation. Many Wisconsin. The report’s author, Dr. Daniel
their right to reject unionization). instances of intimidation and violence by Alesch, concluded that the casino market
union members were documented. (By the in Wisconsin is currently saturated. He
With the ultimate resolution of the Project way, demonstrations in support of the gov- argued that any additional casinos would
Labor Agreement/card check issue on ernor were peaceful, with no documented just shift revenue and employment from
hold, the Kenosha casino represents an incidents of violence.) Unions organized one area of Wisconsin to another.
effort by unions to expand to other casi- a massive effort to remove Walker from
nos—and presumably other workplaces Adding new casinos to an already
office, but he actually won the recall elec- saturated market has consequences.
of various types—the practices at issue tion by a slightly larger margin that he had
in the Mulhall case. The new casinos proposed for Wis-
won the first time around. consin would be on “newly acquired
Especially vulnerable to this type of [For accounts of Walker’s battle with the land,” that is, land acquired by tribes
unionization effort would be any business unions, see the May 2011 and July 2012 for the sole purpose of opening a ca-
that, like a casino, depends on government issues of Labor Watch.] sino in a prime market location. They
regulation (or government “support” such would compete for gamblers and
as tax forbearance) that is largely arbitrary After a protracted political and legal fight, gambling dollars with other casinos
and that is often based on a company’s the reform law was upheld. This led to the in Wisconsin and near Wisconsin’s
reputation and its level of support from current battle over unionizing casinos, borders, with business going to the
the public or from well-organized inter- which is designed to back Walker into a most accessible and the casinos with
est groups. In other words, if your busi- corner. The Obama administration had the most amenities.
ness depends on your relationship with reversed various regulations from the
In a saturated market, any new rev-
politicians and bureaucrats, you may be Bush administration that prevents estab-
enue to the sponsoring tribe is likely
perfectly willing to betray your workers to lishing Indian casinos far from the actual
to come from another Wisconsin
the unions if that will keep the unions and tribal reservations. In 2011, the Bureau of
tribe and from another Wisconsin
their allies in your corner or off your back. Indian Affairs within the Department of
community. In that case, there would
the Interior approved placing the parcel of
be no net gain to the people of the
Walker’s choice land in Kenosha, where the casino would
state. There will simply be a transfer
Walker has the final say. As the Milwaukee be built, in a trust under the control of the
of jobs and money from one commu-
Journal-Sentinel noted, “The Menominee Menominee tribe, so that it would qualify
nity to another and from one tribe to
tribe’s contentious bid to build an $800 as an Indian casino despite being outside
another. The community with a new
million off-reservation casino in Kenosha the reservation.
casino built in a favorable location
amounts to an election campaign aimed at This left, as the last hurdle, the approval will compete effectively until another
just one voter: Gov. Scott Walker.” In Oc- of Gov. Walker. Because of the Project casino is built in a better location
tober, the paper reported that, “For the past Labor Agreement, which requires the with more amenities. Casinos in less
two months, opponents and proponents of use of unionized labor and eliminates favorable locations will suffer and so
the casino have bombarded the airwaves open shop (non-union) competition, the will the communities in which they
with commercials urging Walker to vote construction of the Kenosha casino resort are located.
one way or the other. Spinmeisters on both complex is expected to cost at least $800
sides have been busy trying to win public The existing casinos already handle over
million. Of course, the project would be a
support to persuade the governor to vote $15 billion per year, a figure that has stabi-
boon to the depressed construction unions
with them.” lized after several years of increases. The
in the region.
Kenosha casino is one of four proposed
This is a high stakes game for Gov. Additionally, the casino resort is expected new Indian casinos in Wisconsin. Gov-
Walker, whose controversial labor reforms to create about 3,300 full-time jobs in the ernor Walker has made one of his criteria
may have rescued Wisconsin from a death Kenosha area, which suffers from high for approval that there not be any increase
spiral produced by public-employee col- unemployment. Not surprisingly, unions in the number of casinos. Therefore, if a
lective bargaining agreements that had want to frame the debate not as Gov. new casino is to open, another casino in
wildly generous health and pension ben- Walker versus expansion of gambling, the state must close.
efits which were beginning to crush state or as Gov. Walker versus a project that’s
According to Alesch, this is not just a
and local governments’ finances. not in the best interests of taxpayers, but
zero-sum game. Many complex intergov-
as Gov. Walker versus those 3,300 jobs.
The battle over those reforms was hard- ernmental agreements (IGAs) between the
fought. At one point, all the Democrats in In fact, the economic impact of the casino tribes and the state and local governments
the state Senate fled Wisconsin in order is a complicated thing to measure. In 2012, are already in place at the other casinos.
to block a vote on the reforms. Unions the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute These IGAs include payments to the gov-
also protested, not just with peaceful (WPRI) commissioned a detailed study ernments based upon casino profits, and
Page 4 Labor Watch March 2014the governments need those payments to Menominee tribe has cultivated and re- Gov. Walker can stop what will be the
cover the costs of infrastructure improve- ceived the support of the local government first union run casino in the state of
ments made earlier by the governments in of the Kenosha area and other regional Wisconsin.
support of the casinos. politicians.
Notably the casino is over 200 miles
Should gamblers at the existing casinos ►Finally, a new casino must have the sup- away from the tribe’s reservation
decide to play at the new casino instead, port of all eleven of the recognized Indian and according to the free-market
the casinos that lose gamblers will be less tribes within Wisconsin. This remains a Wisconsin Policy Research Institute
profitable. That means governments will problem because at least three of the tribes this proposed project won’t bring
receive lower payments and be less able to currently oppose the construction of the new jobs to the state. However, Big
pay off bonds that financed infrastructure new casino, fearing it would take business Labor has admitted that they plan
improvements that were made for the ex- from their own casinos in southeastern to implement card check at the site.
isting casinos. In fact, it is possible that, Wisconsin. However, there is a question Yes, that’s right, the same unions that
under some of the IGAs already in place, whether the existing intergovernmental sought to recall Governor Walker are
the state would have to pay money to the agreements (IGAs) already grant consent, asking him to approve the first fully
tribes to make up for lost revenue. because they include provisions requir- unionized casino—one that would
ing compensation by the government eliminate the secret ballot and require
The bottom line: states and localities may
and other tribes if a new casino causes a every Casino worker to join the union.
end up with less revenue after paying
reduced business at the other casinos. In
penalties, have higher costs associated Worker protections are vital to a free
other words, if the casinos suffer harm,
with the infrastructure needed to support society. Unions arose to protect workers
they will be bailed out.
the new casino resort, receive less support from abusive employers. Yet history has
for infrastructure improvements already In late summer, Walker announced he shown that workers also need protection
made to support casinos, and see no real would make a decision by the end of Sep- from abusive and corrupt unions. Laws
increase in jobs that simply shift from tember. As the controversy heated up, it such as the National Labor Relations Act
one region of Wisconsin to another. On quickly became apparent that there was no attempt to serve that purpose.
the other hand, union coffers would be clear agreement whether his criteria have
The history of unions often reveals their
filled with dues from union construction been met. Walker put the decision off until
infiltration by organized crime, and Keno-
workers, and unions would gain new dues- the end of October. As that deadline ap-
sha, with its own history of organized
paying members from casino workers proached, he declared that setting an artifi-
crime activity, is very close to the Chicago
once the new casino opens. More money cial deadline was premature. He noted that
area where corruption is endemic. (It’s
and more members will in turn help unions the process had wound its way through the
about 60 miles from Kenosha to Chicago.)
strengthen their ability to pressure govern- bureaucracies for more than 15 years, an
ment officials from Gov. Walker on down indication of the issue’s complexity and Once unionization of a workforce is
to do their bidding in future controversies. the importance not to act in haste. achieved, the union has access to a stream
of money that can be taken from workers’
The Governor’s rules Several organizations opposed to this paychecks. Providing a path that leads
effort by big labor union bosses held a to the forced unionization of employees
Governor Walker had set three criteria for
press conference in the state capital to through “card check” or by any other
approval of any new casino.
publicize their concerns. The groups method should not be tolerated in a free
►First, as noted, the new casino cannot included the Institute for Liberty, Let society.
lead to a net increase in the amount of Freedom Ring, American Commitment,
gambling in the State of Wisconsin. The and the Market Institute. Spokesmen for George Landrith is president of the
Menominee tribe had already announced the groups encouraged Governor Walker Frontiers of Freedom Institute in Fairfax,
it would close a small casino it currently not to approve the casino in Kenosha that Virginia.
operates on its rural reservation. But was includes the side agreements for backdoor
LW
Walker referring to the absolute number unionization.
of casinos, which would allow swapping
The American Commitment noted— Please consider contributing now
the old casino for the new one, or did he
mean the number of tables and machines The proposed casino has been con- to the Capital Research Center.
troversial for the last 20 years. It was CRC is a watchdog over politicians,
(slots and video) available? If he meant bureaucrats, and special interests
the latter, his no-net-increase rule would originally denied by the Bureau of
in Washington, D.C., and in all 50
be an obstacle to the new casino. Indian Affairs under President Bush,
states.
but now after the Obama administra-
Your contribution to advance our
►Second, a new casino must have the tion reversed the Bush BIA decision
work is deeply appreciated.
support of the local community. The to reward his Big Labor buddies, only
March 2014 Labor Watch Page 5LaborNotes We reported in December on United Auto Workers’ targeting the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. Union offi- cials said that unionizing the plant would give the UAW a crucial foothold in the South and be, as Politico noted, “a prelude” to unionizing BMW and Mercedes-Benz plants (German companies which, like VW, have union members on their boards). Union-friendly VW management actually pushed for a unionization vote, which was held February 12-14. The result: a disaster for the union, 712 to 626 against unionization. BloombergBusinessWeek commented: “If the UAW couldn’t win this one, what can they win?” The Center for Worker Freedom (CWF), affiliated with the pro-taxpayer Americans for Tax Reform, noted various ways in which VW workers were reportedly pressured to join the union: “United Auto Worker members are roaming at will through the halls of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant this afternoon. The union troops are reportedly walking up and down the aisles wearing black shirts with the UAW logo emblazoned across them in a clear effort to intimidate the employees. The union has reportedly been given safety glasses by the company so that they can fully access the production lines.” The UAW’s regional director, according to CWF, received office space in the factory “to spread union propaganda, while workers desiring an equal opportunity to voice the opposing view have been denied permission by Volkswagen management. Sources also tell CWF that union officials are promising workers that they will receive bonuses and will be protected from layoffs if the union wins the election.” And the plant’s VP for human resources is the brother of the general secretary of Volkwagen’s Works Council (a labor-management hybrid organization, common in Europe, that VW wants to have at the Chattanooga plant). CWF’s efforts to warn workers about the UAW included 13 billboards around Chattanooga. Prior to the vote, UAW President Bob King claimed anti-UAW efforts were financed by people “who don’t want workers to have health care.” After the vote, MSNBC’s Timothy Noah blamed the union’s loss on racism: “Apparently there are not a lot of black employees in this particular plant, and so that kind of waving the Confederate flag was an effective strategy.” An MSNBC anchor agreed with Noah, noting, as evidence of racism, anti-UAW billboards that highlighted the union’s alli- ance with President Obama by calling the UAW the “United Obama Workers.” The National Labor Relations Board, controlled 3 to 2 by Democrats, has released new rules designed to promote “ambush elections” on unionization. (It’s a revised version of a measure that NLRB Democrats attempted illegally to issue in 2011, when the board lacked a quorum.) Under the change, an election would be held 10-21 days after a petition is filed, compared to last year’s median 35 days (and, in contested cases, 59 days). Companies would be required to give unions employees’ contact information. The change would delay employers’ legal challenges, includ- ing whether some workers are eligible to vote, until after an election is over. The Wall Street Journal noted: “While a union may silently stalk a company for months to prepare for a unionizing effort, under the new rule the employer would have only days and at most three weeks before the vote.” In Brooklyn, New York, union official Hector Lopez was sentenced to four years for mail and wire fraud and tax evasion, and ordered to pay $800,000 restitution to the union and $372,000 to the government. According to Union Corruption Update, Lopez, as president of Metal Polishers Local 8A-28A of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, allegedly siphoned off money from a benefit fund to buy a home and a Cadillac Escalade, and demanded kickbacks from a benefit fund administrator. According to the Daily Caller (Feb. 6), the American Federation of Government Employees Local 12 has alleged a wide range of discrimination based on race and disability at the government agency where its members work. Local 12 said that the agency has “abysmal” training procedures for preventing discrimination, along with “subjective per- formance appraisals” that promote “cultural norms” and “less diverse” college-educated employees over experienced non-college-educated veterans. Which agency? The Department of Labor, under Secretary Thomas Perez (a strong proponent of the idea of “disparate impact” as proof of discrimination) and his predecessor, Hilda Solis. The newest frontier for union organizing: college athletes. Backed by the United Steelworkers (not to be confused with the Pittsburgh Steelers), the National College Players Association filed a petition with the NLRB on behalf of football players at Northwestern University led by quarterback Kain Colter. “Right now the NCAA [the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which governs college sports] is like a dictatorship,” he said. “The only way things are going to change is if players have a union.” Page 6 Labor Watch March 2014
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