NLRB v. Pueblo of San Juan

NLRA did not preempt Indian tribal council's authority to enact "right-to-work" law or impose real estate lease terms containing "right-to-work" provisions.

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The full case caption appears at the end of this opinion.

In 1996 the San Juan Pueblo tribal council enacted a right-to-work ordinance and also adopted a lease containing similar right-to-work provisions. These actions were challenged by the instant declaratory judgment and injunction suit brought by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) and Local Union No. 1385 of the Western Council of Industrial Workers (the Union) as an intervenor. After rejection of this suit by the district court, the Board and the intervening Union brought this appeal from the district court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of the Pueblo.

I

The relevant facts are undisputed. San Juan Pueblo is a federally-recognized Indian tribe located in New Mexico. Most of its 5,200 members live on tribal lands that are held in trust by the United States for the Pueblo. The Pueblo is governed by a tribal council, which is vested with legislative authority over tribal lands. Through federally-approved leases, the Pueblo leases certain portions of its tribal land to non-tribal businesses as a source of generating tribal income and as a means of employment for tribal members. The origins of this case lie in a labor dispute involving a lumber company operating on leased lands since August, 1996. The history of the leases as well as the dispute, which has now been settled, is described in the District Court’s opinion. NLRB v. Pueblo of San Juan, 30 F. Supp. 2d 1348, 1350�51 (1998).

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