The United Auto Workers on Friday filed a petition to represent about 3,000 table dealers at the casino owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut.

The union has been collecting signatures for the past several months to force a vote. But federal labor law doesn't apply to the tribe, a spokesperson said.

The National Labor Relations Board will conduct the union election. In a case involving a California tribe, the board has said that tribes can be subject to federal labor law under certain factors.

The factors include whether casino impacts non-Indians and employs non-Indians. Most of the 20,000 employees at Foxwoods are non-Indian.

If the effort succeeds, the UAW says it will organize among other groups of casino employees.

Get the Story:
Union Seeks Casino Vote (The Hartford Courant 9/29)
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Casino Dealers Petition For Union (The New London Day 9/29)
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UAW files papers to represent 3,000 Foxwoods workers (The Norwich Bulletin 9/29)