Summary
Tribal sovereign nation status is a Federally approved law which has been challenged and has been upheld in the courts. The labor issues are new and still will have a number of challenges ahead for the Native American Tribes. However, this issue has also surfaced a number of other complicated issues that now involve organized labor and the unionization of many employees working in Native American casinos. This is also being challenged in he courts. However, where there is smoke, there is usually fire. Many issues related to labor have now surfaced and if nothing else will serve as a good reminder that everyone needs to be more sensitive to the feelings and sentiments of their employees whether they work in a Native American Casino or a publicly held corporate casino in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. This case will probably continue for many years before final resolution.
Analysis
Steve Karoul worked for seven years as Vice President of Casino Marketing at a large Native American casino. He also has thirty years experience in the casino industry covering all types of casinos. Labor issues will always be prevalent no matter where the casino is located. Ultimately it will be the employees that have the right to decide if they are happy or unhappy, to unionize or not unionize, to stay with their employer or quit and move on. The underlying message here is that your workers ultimately will have great influence on your long-term success whether they work for a Sovereign Nation employer or a publicly held or privately owned business.
