Congress looks to make unionizing tribal casinos difficult

Congress soon may make it more difficult for labor unions to organize workers at tribal casinos by shrinking the power of the National Labor Relations Board, the main federal labor law enforcement agency.

The Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act would amend the National Labor Relations Act to explicitly state that the NLRB’s enforcement powers don’t extend to Native American reservations, reversing a decade-old board decision. The issue cuts across party lines because some tribes have strong pull in their home states, as does the gambling industry.