Indian Country Today, Oneida, N.Y., guest column

• Published in: Knight Ridder Tribune Business News p. 1
• Main Author: Coin, Jacob L
• Format: Newsletter
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Tribune Content Agency LLC 19.05.2004
• Subjects: Accountability; Alliances; Asset management; Associations; Bipartisanship; Buffalo; Building codes; Caribou; Cashmere; Casinos; Climate change; Coastal plains; Collective bargaining; Community; Community development banks; Constitution-US; Constitutional law; Consumption; Counties; Culture; Decision making; Delgado, Marilyn; Development banks; Double jeopardy; Economic activity; Economic development; Employees; Employers; Employment; Energy efficiency; Energy policy; Entrepreneurial finance; Feasibility studies; Federal funding; Federal government; Financial institutions; Fossil fuels; Funding; Gambling industry; Gas industry; Government; Government agencies; Governors; Grants; Green buildings; Hogen, Phil; Homeowners; Human rights; Indian claims; Insurance industry; International organizations; Investments; Joe, Billy; Jurisdiction; Labor contracts; Labor disputes; Labor law; Labor relations; Labor unions; Lara, Billy Jo; Leadership; Loans; Martin, Phillip; Meeks, Elsie; Museums; Native American studies; Native North Americans; Native peoples; Native rights; Natural resources; Nixon, Richard M; North American Indian lands; Ornelas, Barbara Jean Teller; Per capita; Peterson, Iver; Political activism; Politics; Power; Property rights; Regulatory agencies; Revenue sharing; Rhetoric; Rittvo, Steve; Scalia, Antonin; Search warrants; Small business; Social investing; Souter, David H; Sovereignty; Spencer, Brenda; Startups; State court decisions; State government; Stevens, Ernest; Tax rates; Textile design; Thomas, Clarence; Treaties; Unionization; Water pollution; Weaving; Welfare; Wildlife sanctuaries; Workers; Workers compensation; Working groups; Writers

Jul. 28--RENDERING THE NLRB UNNECESSARY: As has been written in these pages, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision in San Manuel Indian Casino and Bingo is troubling and arrogant and it violates the most sacred tenet the U.S. government claims to honor: The consent of the governed. The NLRB ruled that when tribes operate "typically commercial" enterprises, employ a large number of non- Indians and entertain non-Indian customers, those enterprises are subject to NLRB jurisdiction. Politicizing and codifying those rights that are usually viewed in economic terms will more clearly illustrate the unnecessary federal intrusion. (While the NLRB asserted its jurisdiction in spite of the San Manuel Tribe's labor relations ordinance, it is unlikely that the NLRB will have the last say on this matter.) There may be other creative methods to strengthen the ties between self- government and conditions of employment. Employees entering Indian country to work for a tribe are essentially another political and economic constituency. When nations are in conflict, as the tribes and the U.S. are now in many instances, each side seeks the support of relevant constituencies. Employees in Indian country will choose the "better" nation for them, based on a variety of factors.