Elk Grove Mayor Singh-Allen refuses to support Sky River Casino workers seeking union recognition
The mayor ironically invoked her self-proclaimed mentor, a well-regarded labor union advocate, during the meeting
ELK GROVE, Calif. — Two Sky River Casino employees and a union leader asked the Elk Grove City Council on Wednesday to support workers seeking union recognition at the casino. Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen declined to do so at the end of the meeting.
The exchange during the council’s Sept. 23 meeting followed a federal appeals court ruling in favor of an agreement that gives UNITE HERE a path to represent covered casino workers through a review of signed authorization cards.
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Francisco Maldonado, a lead cook at Sky River, told council members he makes $7 an hour less than lead cooks at union casinos. He said he has begun choosing which bills to pay each month and is considering a second job.
“I shouldn’t have to work a second job just to keep up with basic expenses,” Maldonado said.
A custodian who introduced herself as Pam told the council she earns $19.71 an hour and has spent nearly four years helping organize employees. She said she had participated in card signing, rallies, picket lines and delegations.
“The Sky River employees are part of this community and we deserve better,” she told Singh-Allen, inviting the mayor to join a picket line scheduled for Sept. 30 from 1 to 6 p.m.
Aamir Deen, president of UNITE HERE Local 49, said the union had informed the Wilton Rancheria and casino operator Boyd Gaming that a majority of covered workers had signed authorization cards. He said the tribe continued to refuse to bargain despite rulings favoring the union.
“The workers have asked for your support and you’ve remained silent,” Deen told council members. He offered to meet with them to discuss how they could support casino employees. His claim that Sky River is making “record profits” was not independently established in the records reviewed for this story.
The dispute dates to a 2017 agreement between UNITE HERE, the Wilton Rancheria and Boyd Gaming. It provides for an independent review of authorization cards and recognition of the union if a majority of covered employees designate it as their representative. The tribe argued that its labor ordinance instead required a different election procedure.
In April, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an arbitration award requiring the tribe to cooperate with the union’s use of the 2017 procedure. In a separate arbitration, an arbitrator found that a majority of covered workers had designated the union and ordered the tribe to recognize it and begin bargaining.
The April appeals court ruling addressed the procedure; it did not itself certify the union or order contract negotiations. The tribe has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review that ruling.
Before adjourning Wednesday’s meeting, Singh-Allen responded to the union representatives and refused to intervene.
“I like to stay in our lane,” she flatly stated.
The refusal was ironic given her praise for her self-described mentor, the late Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna Jr., whom she called her mentor. In a separate Hispanic Heritage Month post (see below), she wrote that Serna had recruited her from the classroom to work for him and that his influence continues to inspire her.
Singh-Allen's post said:
His influence on me continues to this day along with thousands of students he inspired.
Serna’s support for organized labor extended to decisions he made as mayor. As reproted in 2001 by the Sacramento News & Review, Serna would not enter Sacramento’s downtown Hyatt Regency after its employees voted against union representation.
The account also described how his preference for a union hotel shaped bids for a new downtown project. Singh-Allen’s Wednesday position placed corporate interests ahead of the intervention Sky River workers had asked her to make.
