TITLE: Support for Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act Exempting Tribes from the National Labor Relations Act
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, Indian tribes have the inherent right to determine whether employee unions can be formed within tribally owned and managed corporations and other business entities; and
WHEREAS, in the case of the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians vs the National Labor Relations Board, the Court of Appeals for the District Court of the District of Columbia ruled in 2006 that the San Manuel Band was subject to the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), despite the inherent sovereignty of the Tribe and even though the NLRA does not specific subject tribes to the jurisdiction of the NLRB, and therefore, a labor union organized outside the boundaries of the San Manuel Band’s reservation could seek to form a union at the Tribe’s casino; and
WHEREAS, legislation is now pending in the U.S. Congress that would explicitly exempt tribes from the jurisdiction of the NLRB and the provisions of the NLRA, called the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act; and
WHEREAS, NCAI adopted Resolution MSP-15-006 at the 2015 Mid-Year Session titled “Supporting Treatment of Indian Tribes and Governments for Purposes of the National Labor Relations Act and Supporting H.R. 511 and S. 248 the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2015.”
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Congress of American Indians hereby declares its support for the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, and urges its member tribes to pass similar resolutions of support for such legislation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI hereby authorizes its Executive Director to inform both the Presidential administration and the U.S. Congress, as may be appropriate, of the position of NCAI regarding the legislation described above; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.