Donald Norcross: “The land of opportunity is right here. It is called the United States of America. But, unfortunately, there is not…”

“The land of opportunity is right here. It is called the United States of America. But, unfortunately, there is not always a level playing field when it comes to that land of opportunity. This year is the 83rd anniversary of the National Labor Relations Act, the act that gave workers a voice, a voice in the workplace. It gave them the ability to bargain--along with their employers--a living wage, pensions, the ability to retire with dignity. But today, we are really debating how to hurt workers--that somehow you get treated outside of the reservations in a humane way, where casinos are operating in a very profitable way, but you cross that line, and you are being treated differently. You are being treated less than and doing it all under the guise of Native American sovereignty. The vast majority of casinos on their properties are treated with respect by employees. But they were able to get to some folks to introduce this piece that somehow let them try to do it differently on that line. When we cross it, you are less than. We can take advantage of you, and we see that happen time after time. I have been before the NLRB many times, had cases. I won many, but I also lost them. But I always felt as if I was treated fairly. And that is what we should be doing here, treating employees, no matter where you are in this great country, fairly. It has been a decade since we raised the minimum wage. And somehow, we are just looking for no reason to hurt employees.…”