They hired a young worker to replace him, who refused to help a second, older worker lift heavy garbage bins as the fired driver used to do. So now the older worker got fired, too even though he was willing to risk COVID and work without a mask to keep his job. He called me today.
He works for a tribal trash company on remote Indian reservation land, and is desperate, saying he has no recourse for unemployment because he was considered "temporary" and that normal state labor laws don't apply on tribal lands, or so he was told He has no car running, is poor and has no way to go look for other work.
I would welcome advice from anyone who can offer advice on what resources are available. I told him about food pantries and he can't even get to those without a car. His tribe doesn't really want to help him, as he was recently a whistleblower to media on a dispute within the tribal governance. Nobody was willing to help on that despite serious and flagrant violations of federal and tribal laws. Contacts to the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) were never returned even though a tribal leader ignored a petition with 64 signatures demanding a new vote on an energy project, and is also ignoring a petition calling for a vote to oust the tribal council. The fired elder is the one who presented one of those petitions to the chair who ignored the law and refused to hold a vote.
He can't seek help from his Congressman, either, since he is in Duncan Hunter's District. The seat is vacant since Hunter resigned after pleading guilty to corruption charges.
It's shameful to see Native Americans mistreated by our government and in this case, by their own tribal leaders.
Can anybody help?
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