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Cole: Tribal governments under fire

By Tom Cole

Story Published: Sep 29, 2008

Story Updated: Sep 29, 2008

I wear a number of hats in my professional life: I am the congressman from the 4th District in Oklahoma, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the only enrolled member of a federally recognized Indian tribe in the U.S. Congress. I spend a lot of time with tribal leaders and tribal people, and I am often asked the following question:

“What is the greatest current threat to tribal governmental sovereignty?”

There is no question in my mind what the answer is, and I respond by saying, “In this Congress and the next, tribes face the greatest threat to their sovereign governments that the U.S. Congress has attempted in decades: the so-called Employee Free Choice Act.”

As Americans, we cherish our right to vote in private when it comes to elections. So, too, it seems to me with the individual right to vote in a union election in private – without some goon looking over our shoulder to make sure we vote “the right way.” This is a part of our democracy and ingrained in our collective sense of being Americans. It is also a fundamental component of our basic labor laws for more than 60 years, a personal freedom exercised by millions of American workers.

Yet that personal freedom is exactly what the Democratic Party leaders and their union boss cohorts want to take from American workers. This ill-conceived proposal represents payback for years of unquestioning loyalty by large union bosses – a proposal that strips union members of their right to have secret-ballot elections to choose their leaders.

For Indian tribal governments, there is no “free choice” at all. Instead, it carries with it a very real threat that goes to the core of their sovereignty. For the first time, this legislation will trample the inherent sovereign rights of tribal governments to govern their internal affairs.
In this Congress and the next, tribes face the greatest threat to their sovereign governments that the U.S. Congress has attempted in decades: the so-called Employee Free Choice Act.


The bill will allow and encourage union bosses to use the National Labor Relations Board and federal courts to require Indian tribal governments to make public internal – even confidential – tribal documents. The NLRB, already hostile to the sovereignty of Indian tribes, would be allowed to interview and subpoena tribal employees and, incredibly, could prohibit the tribe from speaking with its own members if they happen to also be employees of that tribe! That doesn’t sound like “free choice” to me.

This threat is very real. As the centerpiece of the Democratic Party’s legislative agenda, this bill was the first major bill pushed by the Democratic Party leaders. Sen.Barack Obama has declared, “We will pass the Employee Free Choice Act. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, we may have to wait for the next president to sign it, but we will get this thing done.” (Chicago Tribune, March 4, 2007). Sen. Joseph Biden, his running mate, stated that the Employee Free Choice Act is a new “social compact.”

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said just a couple of days ago that the union would work hard for the election of Democrat Barack Obama for president and push for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. And he is not joking. Unions from around the country, their wallets overflowing with union member dues, have announced that they will spend well over $450 million trying to elect Sen. Obama.

The UAW is no stranger to efforts by Indian tribes to retain their liberty in the face of union mobilization. You see, the UAW is among the unions that are now challenging the sovereignty of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation by forcing it to unionize its casino operations. Indeed, the UAW is now in federal court trying to override the tribe’s own labor laws.

Essentially, what these union bosses are proposing to do is use the hard-earned dollars of tribal employees to undermine the sovereignty of the very tribal governments that employ them.

This threat to tribal sovereignty makes this election of vital importance to Indian tribes across the United States. To me the question is simple: Will the next president eagerly sign a law that strikes at the very heart of tribal sovereignty and ignores tribal aspirations to govern themselves? Or will the next president honor the solemn commitments made by the United States to tribal nations – commitments enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and 200 years of treaties and laws?

Only one candidate has shown the mettle to reject this legislation as part of the successful Senate blockade of that law last year. That same candidate has defended and successfully worked to strengthen tribal sovereignty for more than 26 years.

At the end of the day, I know that this tribal member is voting for that candidate – Sen. John McCain.

Rep. Tom Cole represents Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional District and is a member of the Chickasaw Nation.

Thursday, Oct 2 at 12:38 PM Eugene Badonie wrote ...

I was a union officer for many years. Yes, Cole is correct. The UMWA has disenfrachised the Navajo union membership from voting for their representatives in District and International level. Yet, the UMWA District President with International sanctions, hand picked only those representatives that they favor and easily misleadable. What happened to democracy and the whole rhetoric fairness. Worst yet, most of these Navajo union members have limited education and UMWA is actually exploiting them d

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Wednesday, Oct 1 at 9:32 AM Ramona Williams wrote ...

Dear Mr. Cole: I am an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. I am also a Union Officer to whom you so disparagingly refer to as a union "boss". I can assure you that my union does not dictate to any union member or any other person how he/she should vote. We would not need unions if we could be certain that the workplace "bosses" were fair,just and were honest. Some Federal workplace bosses constantly harass, use foul language and intimidate employees.

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Tuesday, Sep 30 at 2:50 PM Gean wrote ...

Trojan horse in casinos. Democrats and unions are united in their control and to destroy tribal sovereignty. Don't be fooled. Say NO to Obama.

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Tuesday, Sep 30 at 11:03 AM REZbilly wrote ...

Geez - i thought it was all Democrats, not just their bills, as when Cole wrote that the only way the GOP could hold oonrtol of the House in 2006 was to "define Democrats as carping critics who favor surrender in Iraq, higher taxes and more government spending." at least he's narrowed his focus.

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Tuesday, Sep 30 at 9:18 AM Pam wrote ...

I agree with Rep. Tom Cole. I will be voting for the canidate that has successfully worked for tribal governments for over 26 years. It appears like there are many Indian people who have forgotten this fact and are more willing to take a chance on a stranger that is steeped in controversy!

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Monday, Sep 29 at 9:32 PM Mr. Dana B. wrote ...

What part of "Thou Shalt Not Covet..." do these proletariates misunderstand?

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