NORWICH, Conn. -- Workers at Foxwoods Casino have called for bargaining for a first contract to begin immediately.

The call follows a bi-partisan, unanimous decision by the National Labor Relations Board to certify the UAW as the elected representative for full- and part-time casino dealers at the casino, representatives said.

"We voted, we won, we've been certified," said Steve Peloso, a 16-year veteran dealer at Foxwoods. "It's way past time for Foxwoods to come to the table and work with us on a fair contract."

In a 2-0 decision issued June 30, NLRB Chairman Peter Schaumber and board member Wilma Liebman affirmed a March 2008 ruling by administrative law judge Raymond Green, certifying the results of the union representation election at Foxwoods.

Casino dealers at Foxwoods voted to join the UAW in November 2007 by a 1,289-852 majority.

"Workers have spoken, the labor board has ruled, and it's time for Foxwoods to obey the law and bargain a contract," said UAW secretary treasurer Elizabeth Bunn, who directs the union's Technical, Office and Professional (TOP) Organizing Department. "Casino dealers formed their own union because they have concerns about wages, tokes, benefits, working conditions, and other issues that can and should be resolved at the bargaining table."

The NLRB affirmed previous findings that under relevant case law -- San Miguel Indian Bingo and Casino, 341 NLRB 1055 (2004), affirmed by the federal District Court for the District of Columbia in 2007 -- workers at tribally owned casinos have the right to organize and bargain under federal labor law.

"Foxwoods Casino is a very successful business that has made a significant contribution to our community and our state," said Bob Madore, director of UAW Region 9A, which includes Connecticut, other New England states, New York City and Puerto Rico. "Foxwoods workers have decided to form a union so they can talk about how to share in the success they helped to create.”

The UAW, one of the nation's largest and most diverse labor unions, represents more than 8,800 casino workers in Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and Rhode Island.