Workers at Seneca Niagara Resorts & Casino are trying to unionize. According to local reports, the effort began on December 12. Organizers are working with Teamsters Local 449, which represents various industries in Erie and Niagara counties from freight, construction, and linen workers to bus drivers.
Vernon Lohan, an organizer and former casino employee working in the food and beverage department, claimed that workers at the casino would be terminated for reasons that would merit only a warning. He added workers are asking for proper pay raises and job protection measures, reports the Niagara Gazette.
The last time Seneca Niagara casino workers tried unionizing was in 2004 and 2005, working with then-Teamsters Local 375 and other local unions for the card dealers and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union for the food and beverage employees. There were some concerns then that the casino and resort were not subject to U.S. labor law given its tribal ownership.
Labor cases have been filed to the NLRB in 2004 and 2005 against the casino and Seneca Niagara Gaming Corp., alleging coercive actions, discharging employees, and denial of access to company property.
U.S. Circuit Courts ruled in several cases nationwide over the past decade involving native casinos that tribal employers, like any other private employer, fall under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board. They are also subject to the National Labor Relations Act, which protects the rights of employees to form a union.
The gaming compact the Seneca Nation has with New York State, which enables them to run Class III gaming facilities in Western New York and pay 25% of its revenue from slot machines and other gaming devices to the state, makes no mention of allowing employees to unionize. They are operating under a temporary compact signed in December 2023 that renews every three months while a new compact is still in negotiations.
Under labor law, if at least 30% of workers sign cards or a petition saying they want a union, the NLRB will conduct an election, certifying it if there is a majority vote. Employers can also voluntarily recognize a union if a majority of employees want it to represent them.
The Seneca Gaming Corporation and the three casinos it operates employ around 3,000 out of the more than 5,000 workers for the Seneca Nation, as reported by the website StandwithSeneca.com.
