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Matt Ishii pickets with Sky River employees and supporters outside the casino for better wages and benefits on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in Elk Grove.<\/p>\n
JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS<\/p>\n
jvillegas@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
The Sacramento region\u2019s hotel and casino workers\u2019 union this week celebrated a win in the group\u2019s yearslong legal disputes with Sky River Casino in Elk Grove.<\/p>\n
Unite Here Local 49 has sought to represent the employees since before the casino\u2019s existence, and in recent years the campaign has escalated with lawsuits and protests outside the casino<\/a>. Sky River and the union have been mired in a dispute over whether Unite Here must be recognized as the workers\u2019 labor representative after securing a majority of signed union authorization cards from employees, or whether it must organize an election.<\/p>\n The federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion this week supporting an arbitrator\u2019s findings that the union may follow the card-signing process.<\/p>\n \u201cMy coworkers and I have been clear. We have signed cards,\u201d said Francisco Maldonado, a lead cook at the casino, at a union news conference Friday morning. \u201cWe have been patient. We\u2019re tired of the delays. We want to be recognized as a union. It\u2019s time to sit down and bargain with us.\u201d<\/p>\n Cammeron Hodson, president of the Wilton Rancheria\u2019s gaming authority, said the tribe is \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d in the decision.<\/p>\n The Wilton Rancheria opened the casino in 2022, and officials there have held that the unionization process must follow an election as detailed in the tribe\u2019s labor ordinance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to fight to ensure that every voice is heard and respected under a fair process rooted in our Tribal laws,\u201d Hodson said in a statement.<\/p>\n In 2017, as the Wilton Rancheria sought a state compact to establish a casino, the groups reached an agreement that laid out the terms by which Unite Here could seek to represent the future establishment\u2019s workers. It said that an arbitrator would review employees\u2019 union authorization cards, and if a majority had signed, the tribe would recognize the union as the employees\u2019 representative.<\/p>\n The casino\u2019s compact was approved in 2017. In 2019, as required by that compact, the tribe passed a labor relations law. In 2023, about a year after the casino opened, the union said it had secured authorization cards from a majority of workers.<\/p>\n The casino has since argued that, under Wilton Rancheria\u2019s labor law, the union must also hold an election among the workers. The Wilton Rancheria\u2019s attorneys have said that disregarding the election process detailed in its labor code would disregard the tribe\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n Wilton Rancheria lost its federal recognition \u2014 and its autonomy to govern \u2014 in 1959, when the California Rancheria Termination Acts were enacted. The tribe regained its recognition in 2009 and today has more than 1,000 members, many of them in the Sacramento region.<\/p>\n The union sued in November 2023. It has held that an election isn\u2019t necessary under the 2017 agreement, and an election would extend an already prolonged process, and raise opportunities for complications and appeals.<\/p>\n Throughout the campaign, the union has cited a survey by UC Davis researchers who found workers at non-unionized casinos in the region earned $18.12 an hour on average, or 12.7% less than workers at union-represented casinos.<\/p>\n Attorneys for the Wilton Rancheria and Unite Here gave their arguments before the 9th Circuit in December<\/a>. The hearing focused on a previous decision by an arbitrator who found that Sky River must adhere to the 2017 agreement. In August 2024, a district court judge denied a motion to dismiss the first arbitrator\u2019s decision. Attorneys for the casino requested that the court reverse the district court\u2019s order.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s opinion was issued as an unpublished memorandum, which does not set precedent, the union said.<\/p>\n Hodson, of the gaming authority, said the tribe is \u201csteadfast\u201d in its commitment to defend its sovereignty.<\/p>\n The union said it is ready to negotiate a contract.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cards have been counted,\u201d said Aamir Deen, president of Unite Here Local 49. \u201cThe judges and arbitrators have ruled. The workers have patiently waited. It\u2019s time to bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 1:47 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"Unite](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Unite-Here-Local-49-news.jpg\" "\\"Unite-Here-Local-49-news.jpg\\"")
Unite Here Local 49 leaders and casino workers hold a news conference Friday following a 9th Circuit decision in their dispute with Sky River Casino in Elk Grove. From left to right: Nikka Flores, a lead attendant at the casino’s market, Unite Here Local 49 President Aamir Deen, Secretary-Treasurer Regina Longo and Francisco Maldonado, a lead cook at Sky River. ANNIKA MERRILEES amerrilees@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
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