Does the National Labor Relations Board have authority to issue subpoenas to tribal cops?
From the New London Day:
Sovereignty Takes Center Stage in NLRB Hearing
HARTFORD – Today’s National Labor Relations Board hearing on the unionization of casino dealers began with a fiery debate on sovereign immunity.
At the center of the debate was whether the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Police could or should respond to a government-issued subpoena. Both the NLRB and the United Auto Workers union have used NLRB-issued subpoenas.
The union served a subpoena to the police department last week seeking a report that was filed by a dealer at Foxwoods.
Tina Denson testified last week that she was intimidated on three occasions because she made it clear that she was anti-union. The police report is related to an incident in which she said she was followed home and nearly run off the road by a pro-union dealer.
Attorneys representing the Mashantuckets argued that while it was ruled that the NLRB has jurisdiction over the tribe’s gaming authority, the police department is a separate entity and should not subject to the subpoena.
Judge Raymond P. Green said that by not producing the report, it could be detrimental to the tribe’s case, in that he would discredit the witness’ testimony. He added that if the tribe’s attorneys could produce the document, they should.
The judge said that since the tribe is on the small size, with about 900 members, it was plausible that the tribal chairman could ask the police department to release the document.
Tribal lawyer Richard Hankins said that summation was offensive, likening the tribe to the fictional town of “Mayberry” depicted on “The Andy Griffith Show” and said that while the governor of Connecticut could ask the state police to do the same, it would be deemed inappropriate.
William O’Conner, an attorney representing the regional NLRB, asked whether the tribe’s attorneys are in possession of the document and even have access to it.
Hankins shot back: “We haven’t gone to the barber shop and asked Andy Griffith for the document.”
Green said he will read over the tribe’s written argument along with the applicable case law and then issue a ruling.
Meanwhile, the tribe rested its case. The UAW will begin presenting its case this afternoon.
The purpose of the hearing is to decide whether a union election at Foxwoods in November is valid.
Table game and poker dealers voted 1,289 to 852 in favor of union representation by the UAW union.
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