Unite Here Takes Full Page Ad in Elk Grove Citizen in Battle With Sky River Casino
Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and three of the other four city council members have accepted substantial campaign donations from construction-related unions
In the January 2 edition of The Elk Grove Citizen, a full-page advertisement (see below) placed by UNITE HERE Local 49 confronted readers with stark numbers: workers at the brand-new Sky River Casino earn below-average wages compared with their counterparts at larger unionized tribal casinos across Northern California.
The advertisement features a barista, cook, and cleaner who are quoted to the penny — $4.05, $3.66, $3.63 below average — figures meant not only to offer a stark comparison but also to highlight where flashy slot machines mask simmering discontent.
For nearly three years, employees at Sky River, built by the Wilton Rancheria tribe and opened in 2022, have been pushing to unionize under the banner of UNITE HERE Local 49, a Sacramento-area labor union representing workers in gaming, hospitality, and food service. Workers and union leaders say that a majority of employees signed authorization cards in 2023, which, under an earlier understanding between the union and casino management and the state gaming compact, apparently are not enough to trigger recognition and bargaining.
The tribe has countered that only a tribal-law secret-ballot election will suffice, framing the dispute as an issue of sovereignty rather than one of wages or fairness.
The union’s own website and social media reflect this campaign — timeline graphics and worker testimonials; calls for community support; images of rallies in Elk Grove and petitions delivered to tribal offices.
These digital footprints chart a long slog, from initial organizing to public demonstrations, from social-media shares to the Citizen ad itself, suggesting that what began as an internal labor drive has transformed into a broader struggle over equity in a region marked by stark income divides.
But this fight has political undertones that stretch beyond the casino floor.
Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and three of the other four city council members have accepted substantial campaign donations from construction-related unions. Yet, when it comes to workers in their city fighting for better wages, there is silence from these elected officals.
The mayor and city council's silence on Sky River’s labor dispute has left a vacuum, one that the union and its supporters are more than willing to fill with protest chants, petition signatures, and now, paid advertising.
