NLRB Rules Northwestern football players may not form union

By Michael Collins | Aug 17, 2015

The Northwestern University football players have been denied their request to form a union by the National Labor Relations Board, who overturned a decision that came down in March 2014.

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According to a report on Bloomberg Business, the NLRB reversed their 2014 decision, citing unfair balance and the formation of such a union upsetting “stability in labor relations”. Members of the Northwestern football team petitioned last year to form a union, attempting to change how college athletes are viewed, making them employees rather than the traditional view of “student-athletes”.

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So what does this mean now for not only the Northwestern players, but other who would consider following the same course of action?

For Northwestern, this is it, and there is no recourse for an appeal or any other possible reversal of the decision, as Penn State labor relations professor Doug Allen called this a “final and binding result.”

But the door could still be open for further action by players in a broader scope. It was the petition by the Northwestern players to form a union that really set the wheels in motion for a number of reforms that have happened over the past year, including total cost of attendance scholarships, limiting time spent in on-field activities, medical coverage and increased stipends.

A larger more centralized movement by student-athletes could help to bring about more needed changes, and bring an end to the squandering of massive profits without giving back to the players who help make them possible.

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