NLRB official rules Dartmouth basketball players can unionize

Local officials with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled Monday that Dartmouth College basketball players are considered school employees and can move forward with holding a union election.

The landmark ruling, which allows Dartmouth and the NCAA to appeal to the entire NLRB, could lead to the first player union in college sports.

15 players on the team I signed the petition in September. Joins Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 560, which already represents Dartmouth employees. Trade union representatives enable students to collectively bargain over working conditions.

SEIU said in September that the union was “proud to stand in solidarity with young people fighting for the right to collectively bargain for a better future and forge a path for other student-athletes.”

Monday’s ruling continues the NLRB’s fight against the NCAA, which considers athletes primarily as students rather than school employees. Directly handled by NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo We called on schools in 2021argued that the use of the term “student-athlete” could give students greater labor rights.

“The underlying policies of the NLRA, Board Act, and common law fully support the conclusion that certain athletes at academic institutions are statutory employees and have a right to act collectively to improve their terms and conditions of employment. ” Abruzzo wrote. National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

The NCAA and universities have fought against treating students as employees. Another landmark policy change in 2021 allows athletes to be compensated for their work through name, likeness and likeness (NIL) rights.

NCAA President Charlie Baker, a former Massachusetts governor, argued at a House subcommittee hearing last month that NIL payments do not turn students into employees. College sports have become a focus of Congress.

Northwestern University’s football team held a union election in 2014 following a similar regional ruling by the NLRB. That election was scrapped after the NLRB determined that unionizing the Wildcats would create an unfair working environment in the Big Ten Conference. Northwestern is the only private university in the conference, and the NLRB can only protect private employees.

The Ivy League, of which Dartmouth is a member, is made up entirely of private organizations.

There are also similar labor unions. Complaint pending About the University of Southern California’s football and men’s and women’s basketball teams.