Foxwoods Beverage Workers Vote To Unionize

Beverage workers at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut have voted to unionize.  

Nearly 400 bartenders and drink servers at Foxwoods held a secret ballot election on Saturday under U.S. Labor law. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns Foxwoods, wanted the vote held under tribal law, but that was rejected by the National Labor Relations Board. 

Brian Petronella is president of Local 371 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

"The vote was 190 yes to 145 no. The workers have spoken and we look forward to negotiating a contract with Foxwoods in the near future. 

The NLRB supervised the election. The Tribe has insisted that the situation impinges on its status as a sovereign nation. Certification of the vote results by the NLRB could be delayed if there are further objections. 

For WNPR, I'm Diane Orson.