Smoke Signals 7 NOVEMBER 1,2008 Transportation to Grand Ronde Unions targeting casinos The Portland Satellite office has a transportation day to Grand Ronde once a month for medical or dental appointments or enrollment cards. We need a minimum of three people to sign up. Please call Lisa at 503-235-4230. We will leave at the Portland Office at 8 a.m. Please call in advance for the scheduled monthly date. Wm bag jpcrOscs's Help collect biological samples from deer and elk and your name will be entered into a drawing for six gift cards. 3 prizes for deer: $125 gift card to Sportsman's Warehouse 3 prizes for elk: $125 gift card to Sportsman's Warehouse Why: The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Natural Resources Division, in cooperation with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and USDA Veterinary Services, is collecting biological samples from deer and elk to learn more about diseases that may be affecting our deer and elk herds. Chronic Wasting Disease, if it shows up in Oregon, can have devas tating effects on deer and elk populations. Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease is not known to be present in the Grand Ronde area but has been detected in southwest and central Oregon. Bring hunter-harvested animals to the Tribes' Natural Resources office at 47010 S.W. Hebo Road, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Entries in drawing will be awarded as follows: Deer or elk brain stem and lymph nodes (1 entry for usable sample). Deer blood sample (1 entry for usable sample). Usable samples collected from fresh deerelk road kills also will earn entries for the person who reports them to the Tribe's biologists. The Fish and Wildlife Committee and Natural Resources Division thank you for your help in gathering information to help us maintain our deer and elk populations. Happy hunting! (Drawing will be held at the April 2009 Fish & Wildlife Committee meeting. Winners will be notified.) For more information, contact the Natural Resources Division, 47010 S.W. Hebo Road, Grand Ronde, Lisa Riley at 503-879-2395, Rebecca McCoun at 503-879-2396 or Kelly Dirksen at 503-879-2382. After hours or on the weekend, call 503-434-3604. LABOR LAW continued from front page dues. For example, the United Auto Workers lost 73,500 members in 2007. To find new employees to organize and enroll, unions are targeting casino workers. Foxwoods in Connecticut, run by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, has seen its dealers orga nized into a bargaining unit by the United Auto Workers. And a recent federal Court of Appeals ruling let stand a decision that national labor laws apply to workers in Tribal casinos despite sovereignty claims. The National Labor Relations Board ruled in a case involving the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mis sion Indians in San Bernardino, Calif., that the National Labor Relations Act applies to Tribes and jobs on Indian reservations. The San Manuel Band contested the decision, but it was upheld Feb. 9, 2007, in the U.S. Court of Ap peals for the District of Columbia, which is one step shy of reaching the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeals said that the National Indian Gaming Regu latory Act did not mean that fed eral agencies would have "no role in regulating employment issues that arise in the context of Tribal gaming." Therefore, applying the National Labor Relations Act to the San Manuel's casino "would not signifi cantly impair Tribal sovereignty, and therefore Indian law does not preclude the Board from applying the NLRA." "In Indian County, since the San Manuel case, you're starting to see a lot more activity," D'Aquila says. "Tribal casinos employ thousands of people, and in some situations a large percentage of those are non Tribal members. You are seeing a big push by unions to organize those work forces." "Federal case law provides that the National Labor Relations Board may apply the NLRA to In dian casinos," D'Aquila says. Among other things, the fed eral act forbids employers from interfering with or restraining em ployees from joining or assisting a labor organization, she says. D'Aquila says the new law is part of a broader effort by the Tribe to develop Tribal law so that labor and employment matters on the reservation can be addressed. "It's part of a larger goal of the Tribe to create substantive em ployment and labor laws among the laws of the Tribe," she says. "So it's one of probably several the Tribe will be adopting to just develop its own code and how it wants to deal with its own work force." D'Aquila says she researched other Tribal and state right-to-work laws while drafting the Tribal version to get ideas what Grand Ronde might want included in its law. The law applies to all Tribal en terprises, as well as any employer on the reservation. D a- 'fait-1 IM-.-B Wm. twWrtM tJM 'MMtOHwH.l Community Parenting Classes The Making Parenting a Pleasure is a 6-week class that will begin November 5. This class focuses on self-care for parenting, stress & anger managementchild development and alternative disciplines. This class is ideal for parents of Tribal children ages 0-10. Date Time Nov. 5 through Dec. 17 5:30 - 8 P.M. Location Education 126 A Dinner, child care for children under age 1 0, and gas vouchers provided on a weekly basis. $100 gift cards, one per family upon successful completion of czlz Class is limited to 15 parents ofTribal children. 1 If you are interested, please contact Carmen Mercier (503) 879-1646 or 1-800-242-8196 Elaine Lane (503) 879-2281 or 1-800-422-0232 Ad created by George Vaktef