Senate to Vote on Compacts Thursday

The Senate will vote Thursday, April 19, on the 5 amended compacts that, if passed, will allow five major Southern California tribes to expand their gambling operations. “I intend to bring them up Thursday," Senate leader Don Perata, D-Oakland, said Monday. As mentioned before, Perata is the author of the compact for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and as the Senate leader he controls the flow of legislation. Supporters of the compacts expressed cautious confidence Monday that the bills will pass the Senate. "I believe in this house we have sufficient votes," Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, said. Ducheny is the author of the compact bill for the Morongo Band.

But the strongest opponents - labor unions - continue to make their case that four of the five compacts aren't fair to casino workers. Labor isn't opposing the compact for the San Manuel tribe since it has a collective bargaining compact with the Communication Workers of America. Last Friday, the California Professional Firefighters circulated a "Senate Floor Alert" to notify senators that the organization representing 30,000 firefighters and emergency medical service workers is opposed to four of the Southern California compacts. Firefighters' spokesman Carroll Wills said the alert is a show of support for other unions that have been actively opposing the compacts. "We are standing with our brothers and sisters in the labor movement," Wills said, but added that firefighters do not expect to take a lead role in the fight. The unions, led by Unite HERE, want tribes to drop the secret ballot provision for labor organizing elections in these compacts and replace it with a "card-check" provision allowing organizers to collect signed cards from workers supporting a union over a period of time. Tribal leaders and their supporters have argued that unions haven't really tried to organize under the existing labor provision, and further said they provide workers fair wages and benefits.

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