NLRB Hearings are best left to those who have lots of patience and time, two things I’m missing this week. Thus, unless there are major developments that occur, I’ll only briefly recap where things stand, on occasion, on the ongoing Foxwoods/UAW saga.
- Yesterday, the NLRB (also called "The Board") denied Foxwoods’ Request for Review, which was discussed here. It did so with little comment other than to note that the request "raises no substantial issues warranting review." UAW indicated that it was a "major victory", according to The Day, and yet, given prior Board decisions on the subject, the result is not surprising. As I indicated previously, the Tribe is likely not focusing on the Board, but establishing a record for an appeal to the Circuit Courts and perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court someday.
- The Hearing has continued with the Tribe making a little — but not much — progress in its argument that the election ballots should have been printed in two Chinese dialects. The Day has a thorough report on Day 2 with an update on the goings on during Day 3. Apparently, the judge had a few reservations about the ballots used.
At one point, after the third dealer testified, the judge presiding over the hearing, Raymond P. Green said a lot of the confusion could have been avoided if the ballots were printed in multiple languages.
“If it was me, I would have translated the ballot,” Green said, but added that more evidence is needed to overturn the election.
- A decision on the objections that the hearing is focusing on will likely come down within the next few weeks — though it could be longer given the scope of the testimony.
UPDATE: The Day, has a more thorough report of Day 3 of the hearing available here now. The attorneys representing the regional NLRB challenged the Tribe’s arguments a bit more.
William O’Conner, an attorney representing the regional NLRB, said no written complaints from any employees about the lack of a multilingual ballot were provided to the board, despite a subpoena requesting such documents.
There was “not one iota of evidence” that any one was affected or disturbed by the ballot, O’Conner said.
Richard Hankins, an attorney for the tribe, responded after the hearing concluded for the day.
“That’s grandstanding by Mr. O’Conner,” Hankins said. “Because he’s trying to cover for the fact that the region didn’t do its job.”