Sky River Casino Legal Timeline

  • 2017

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    Card Check

    • The Wilton Rancheria and Boyd Gaming signed a card check agreement with UNITE HERE in 2017.
    • Pursuant to the agreement, if 50% + 1 of the eligible workers at Sky River Casino sign union authorization cards, Wilton and Boyd would recognize the union.
    • The agreement also required UNITE HERE to actively support Wilton’s Tribal Gaming Compact.

  • Card Check

    • The union did its part and fulfilled its obligation under the agreement by testifying in August, 2018.
    • Click above to see former UNITE HERE Political Director Jack Gribbon’s testimony in support of Wilton’s tribal gaming compact.
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    2018

  • Summer of 2023

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    Super Majority on Cards!

    • Local 49 informed Sky River Casino that more than 50% of the workers at Sky River Casino signed union authorization cards.
    • The tribe and Boyd did not take steps to count the cards or recognize the union.

    Two Arbitrators Uphold the Agreement

    • Instead of following the card check agreement, the tribe argued that a provision of the Compact, the TLRO, superseded the agreement. The Union disagreed, creating a dispute. The TLRO and the card check both have dispute resolution procedures. The union agreed to arbitrate the dispute under the TLRO.

  • Tribal Labor Relations Ordinance Arbitrator

    • An arbitrator – selected under the authority of the dispute resolution language in the Tribe’s labor relations ordinance (TLRO Section 13: Binding Dispute Resolution Mechanism) – ruled that the tribe must follow the card check agreement.
    • The tribe asked the US District Court for the Eastern District of California to vacate the arbitrator’s ruling. The Court refused.
    • The tribe has now appealed the district court’s ruling to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Unite Here v. Wilton Rancheria 0:25cv00234).
    • The card check process is continuing despite this appeal.
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    Spring of 2024

  • Summer of 2025

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2017 – Card Check

  • The Wilton Rancheria and Boyd Gaming signed a card check agreement with UNITE HERE in 2017.
  • Pursuant to the agreement, if 50% + 1 of the eligible workers at Sky River Casino sign union authorization cards, Wilton and Boyd would recognize the union.
  • The agreement also required UNITE HERE to actively support Wilton’s Tribal Gaming Compact.

2018 – Card Check

The union did its part and fulfilled its obligation under the agreement by testifying in August, 2018.

Click above to see former UNITE HERE Political Director Jack Gribbon’s testimony in support of Wilton’s tribal gaming compact.

Summer of 2023 – Super Majority on Cards!

  • Local 49 informed Sky River Casino that more than 50% of the workers at Sky River Casino signed union authorization cards.
  • The tribe and Boyd did not take steps to count the cards or recognize the union.

Two Arbitrators Uphold the Agreement

Instead of following the card check agreement, the tribe argued that a provision of the Compact, the TLRO, superseded the agreement. The Union disagreed, creating a dispute. The TLRO and the card check both have dispute resolution procedures. The union agreed to arbitrate the dispute under the TLRO.

Spring of 2024 – Tribal Labor Relations Ordinance Arbitrator

  • An arbitrator – selected under the authority of the dispute resolution language in the Tribe’s labor relations ordinance (TLRO Section 13: Binding Dispute Resolution Mechanism) – ruled that the tribe must follow the card check agreement.
  • The tribe asked the US District Court for the Eastern District of California to vacate the arbitrator’s ruling. The Court refused.
  • The tribe has now appealed the district court’s ruling to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Unite Here v. Wilton Rancheria 0:25cv00234).
  • The card check process is continuing despite this appeal.

Summer of 2025 – CCNA Arbitrator

  • An arbitrator selected under the card check agreement (Card Check Agreement Section 11) declared that Unite Here showed support from the majority of workers.