Northwestern Wildcat Players Attempt to Unionize

[StrangeSox]

Kain Colter starts union movement

 

For the first time in the history of college sports, athletes are asking to be represented by a labor union, taking formal steps on Tuesday to begin the process of being recognized as employees, ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” has learned.

 

Ramogi Huma, president of the National College Players Association, filed a petition in Chicago on behalf of football players at Northwestern University, submitting the form at the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board.

 

Backed by the United Steelworkers union, Huma also filed union cards signed by an undisclosed number of Northwestern players with the NLRB — the federal statutory body that recognizes groups that seek collective bargaining rights.

 

“This is about finally giving college athletes a seat at the table,” said Huma, a former UCLA linebacker, who created the NCPA as an advocacy group in 2001. “Athletes deserve an equal voice when it comes to their physical, academic and financial protections.”

 

Huma told “Outside The Lines” that the move to unionize players at Northwestern started with quarterback Kain Colter, who reached out to him last spring and asked for help in giving athletes representation in their effort to improve the conditions under which they play NCAA sports. Colter became a leading voice in regular NCPA-organized conference calls among players from around the country.

[bmags]

Interesting, good luck.

[LittleHurt05]

Good for them. College football & basketball have become have become such financial giants, you know something like this would come eventually. At the big programs, they stopped being student-athletes a while ago.

 

 

[StrangeSox]

I see ss2k5 already posted this in the NCAA thread

 

ChiTribSports ‏@ChiTribSports 3m

 

NU football players seek to join labor union http://trib.in/1b0QmDE

 

[StrangeSox]

Interesting, good luck.

They're definitely facing an uphill battle in becoming a recognized union.

 

What always stands out to me is how odd the modern union organization lines seem to be these days. These NW players are aligning with the United Steelworkers, back in December NYU grad students unionized with the UAW. They're basically just legacy names.

[EvilMonkey]

So then they will have to pay income taxes on their education 'benefits'. And union dues on top of that. Have fun with that.

[bmags]

They're definitely facing an uphill battle in becoming a recognized union.

 

What always stands out to me is how odd the modern union organization lines seem to be these days. These NW players are aligning with the United Steelworkers, back in December NYU grad students unionized with the UAW. They're basically just legacy names.

 

I don't think it will win but it will provide good footwork for what grounds need to be met for college players to get better treatment.

[StrangeSox]

So then they will have to pay income taxes on their education 'benefits'. And union dues on top of that. Have fun with that.

I am sure that they have considered the legal ramifications.

[StrangeSox]

I don't think it will win but it will provide good footwork for what grounds need to be met for college players to get better treatment.

It's especially difficult with college athletics because you're dealing with people who are going to be in the system for at most five years, more like 3-4 if they're actually good enough to move on to the next level. So you're going to be asking current athletes to take pretty big risks and sacrifices (if it got to the level of strikes or lockouts) for benefits they won't personally see because they'll be out of the system by the time changes are made.

[DukeNukeEm]

They're a private school so I support this wholeheartedly.

[Jake]

I hope their grad students organize before I arrive

[Jenksismyhero]

I'm guessing this gets kicked out pretty quickly. The NLRA gives rights to "employees." I doubt the players can successfully argue that they are employees of the NCAA or universities under the law. I thought prior cases have held that players are students, not employees.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Jenksismybitch

[StrangeSox]

It should be noted that this isn't solely or even mainly about NCAA DI football players wanting a weekly paycheck but about having some protections and guarantees in place and having a seat at the table when rules, regulations, health/injury issues etc. are being negotiated.

 

Huma said CAPA's goals are the same as those of the NCPA. The group has pressed for better concussion and other medical protections, and for scholarships to cover the full cost of attendance.

 

Having already successfully advocated for the creation of multiyear scholarships, it now would like those scholarships to be guaranteed even if a player is no longer able to continue for injury or medical reasons. The group has also called for a trust fund that players could tap into after their NCAA eligibility expires to finish schooling or be rewarded for finishing schooling.

 

 

[southsider2k5]

So then they will have to pay income taxes on their education 'benefits'. And union dues on top of that. Have fun with that.

 

good point. That scholarship would become pretty expensive if they had to pay taxes on it.

[StrangeSox]

I'm guessing this gets kicked out pretty quickly. The NLRA gives rights to "employees." I doubt the players can successfully argue that they are employees of the NCAA or universities under the law. I thought prior cases have held that players are students, not employees.

Yeah, grad students have a hard enough time getting recognized, this is definitely going to be a difficult fight.

[bmags]

It's interesting, I think sensibly there is a line between an academic scholarship and an athletic scholarship. But I can see a court not wanting to tread that line and imply that all scholarships are considered employment and leave students with rights.

[StrangeSox]

good point. That scholarship would become pretty expensive if they had to pay taxes on it.

Grad students can receive full-ride scholarships plus stipends (and work outside of school if they want, which can be very difficult to student athletes to do because of NCAA rules) without it being taxable income.

 

They're pressing for various things, but they aren't arguing for big paychecks right now.

[witesoxfan]

Where does the right to sell your own likeness play into this?

[StrangeSox]

It's interesting, I think sensibly there is a line between an academic scholarship and an athletic scholarship. But I can see a court not wanting to tread that line and imply that all scholarships are considered employment and leave students with rights.

 

It depends on how that scholarship is earned, I would imagine. Most grad students and all athletes are clearly performing some sort of service to the university, whether it's TAing or outright teaching undergraduate courses or playing sports which can generate revenue and publicity/prestige for the school. That's not the same as someone who gets an academic scholarship for good grades but otherwise doesn't perform any services for the university.

[StrangeSox]

Where does the right to sell your own likeness play into this?

Presumably something like this would be argued for by the players' union rep with the NCAA, whereas currently they don't really have a voice.

[Jenksismyhero]

It's interesting, I think sensibly there is a line between an academic scholarship and an athletic scholarship. But I can see a court not wanting to tread that line and imply that all scholarships are considered employment and leave students with rights.

 

And if they do that, then frankly every student should be considered an "employee" of someone - the school, the state, or the government - because nearly every student receives some kind of aid to go to school (scholarships, grants, internal school grants, or general financial aid).

[StrangeSox]

And if they do that, then frankly every student should be considered an "employee" of someone - the school, the state, or the government - because nearly every student receives some kind of aid to go to school (scholarships, grants, internal school grants, or general financial aid).

 

Graduate student unions are already recognized and yet we haven't seen this slippery slope to "every student is an employee."

[Jenksismyhero]

It depends on how that scholarship is earned, I would imagine. Most grad students and all athletes are clearly performing some sort of service to the university, whether it's TAing or outright teaching undergraduate courses or playing sports which can generate revenue and publicity/prestige for the school. That's not the same as someone who gets an academic scholarship for good grades but otherwise doesn't perform any services for the university.

 

I think TA's or teaching courses is the best argument because you can clearly see the service being performed for a "wage." Not all players generate any money for the school or increase the publicity/prestige of the school.

[Jenksismyhero]

Graduate student unions are already recognized and yet we haven't seen this slippery slope to "every student is an employee."

 

See above. I think it's much easier to make the case that a grad student is an employee because you can pinpoint the service and the responding wage.

[Balta1701]

Grad students can receive full-ride scholarships plus stipends (and work outside of school if they want, which can be very difficult to student athletes to do because of NCAA rules) without it being taxable income.

 

They're pressing for various things, but they aren't arguing for big paychecks right now.

Just so it's said, the stipend I received as a grad student was considered taxable income.

 

Interestingly though it was exempt from payroll taxes.

 

The tuition however, was not taxed, obviously a big deal.