Employees at the Sky River Casino in Elk Grove are saying their effort to unionize is being unjustly held up. Workers and union organizers visited the Wilton Rancheria Tribe's offices on Tuesday to deliver a letter urging the tribe to recognize their union. They shared that they were asked to leave shortly after arriving.
The protest is part of growing frustration that has been bubbling from employees seeking a union since the casino was built in 2022. About 650 workers currently at the casino would qualify to be represented by the union.
When the Wilton Rancheria Tribe was seeking approval to build the Sky River Casino in Elk Grove, tribal leaders spent years seeking state approval. The Tribe entered into a state compact that allows it to operate a casino in California. The Tribe made its case through meetings at the Capitol until the project won approval and Sky River opened.
The casino, like all other Las Vegas-style casinos in California, operates under tribal law rather than federal or state law.
Union leaders with Local Unite HERE 49 say they supported the Tribe through that process and believed there was an understanding that workers would have a union once the casino opened. Three years after opening, workers say that the effort has gone nowhere.
Wilton Rancheria leaders have a different view. In a written statement, the tribal office said it wants a “fair process” that “upholds tribal sovereignty” and includes a secret ballot election under tribal labor law. Tribal officials say this process ensures workers can make their decisions independently.
Unite Here Local 49 says a substantial majority of employees have signed union authorization cards but have not been recognized. Union organizers say the Tribe had previously agreed that a majority sign-up would be enough for recognition once the casino opened.
Union representative Aamir Deen says employee support for unionization has been clear.
Union representative Aamir Deen holds up documents prepared for delivery to Wilton Rancheria during a Tuesday evening gathering on Nov. 18.Tony Rodriguez/CapRadio“Three different times a huge majority of workers signed to say that they want to be part of our union and they want the Tribe to bargain a contract and the Tribe continues to delay,” Deen said.
Workers say the delay affects their pay and the basics they can afford. Barista Nikka Flores says wages are not keeping up with other casinos in the region.
“Honestly, the pay is below average. We all know it's below average. We've seen the comparisons not just with the other casinos, but with other places too,” Flores said.
Flores says the issue becomes impossible to ignore when the room is full and jackpots are going off.
Nikka Flores cheers with fellow Sky River Casino workers during a union gathering in Elk Grove on Tuesday, Nov. 18.Tony Rodriguez/CapRadio
“It really is discouraging when you see people winning a lot of money and we want we support them. We love it because we want them to win too, but you know bitterly we're also like … we cannot afford gas today,” Flores said.
A recent UC Davis study of tribal casinos found that unionized employees earn higher wages and receive stronger benefits. Researcher Jason Whisler says the findings show consistent differences.
“The wages … are over 12 percent higher in the unionized workforces than in the non-unionized,” Whisler said. “But there are also tons of other great differences with the union, the health care. People reported having better health care, being able to use it, and having it more affordable.”
Union representative Aamir Deen says the dispute is not about sovereignty, but about an agreement he says the tribe is choosing not to follow.
“There are 10 tribes who are all sovereign nations and we have great relationships with all of them and we respect all of their sovereignty,” Deen said. “We respect the Wilton Rancheria’s sovereignty. This is not about sovereignty. This is about a private agreement that they are choosing not to honor.”
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