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An Indiana Teamsters local has been denied a restraining order in a dispute with the Shelbyville police over the location of its picket line at the Horseshoe Indianapolis casino in Shelbyville, where about 200 workers are on strike.
Teamsters Local Union 135 sought the temporary restraining order against city of Shelbyville after police ordered protesters to disperse from their picket line outside the casino, with the union claiming the picket line was on public property and that moving it would deny picketers their First Amendment rights.
The union sought the order as part of a lawsuit against the city of Shelbyville to prevent the city’s police department from moving the picket line.
But U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon denied the union’s request on Monday, ruling that the picketing site was on the casino’s private property and that the union was unlikely to be able to show that the area was a “public forum” historically associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights.
Despite the ruling, the union indicated in a telephone conference with the court on Thursday that it would proceed with its lawsuit and seek a preliminary injunction against the city, court records show.
The picketing at Horseshoe Indianapolis began Oct. 17 after a scheduled vote on union representation at the casino was delayed due to the federal government shutdown.
The workers then proposed using a neutral third party to conduct the vote as planned, but the union says the casino, which is owned by Caesars Entertainment, declined the request.
The workers responded with a strike and began picketing in front of the casino.
The case is Teamsters Local Union No. 135 v. City of Shelbyville, Indiana, and Chief Bill Dwenger ( 1:25-cv-02278-JPH-TAB ).
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