Northwestern Players Lose Unionization Bid

The National Labor Relations Board on Monday declined to assert jurisdiction and dismissed a petition filed by the College Athletes Players Association seeking to become the collective bargaining representative of Northwestern University football players who receive grant-in-aid scholarships.

According to a Labor Relations Board statement, the board did not determine if the players were statutory employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Instead, they exercised its discretion not to assert jurisdiction and dismissed the representation petition filed by the union.

“In the decision, the Board held that asserting jurisdiction would not promote labor stability due to the nature and structure of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

“By statute the Board does not have jurisdiction over state-run colleges and universities, which constitute 108 of the roughly 125 FBS teams. In addition, every school in the Big Ten, except Northwestern, is a state-run institution. As the NCAA and conference maintain substantial control over individual teams, the Board held that asserting jurisdiction over a single team would not promote stability in labor relations across the league.”

Northwestern officials issued a statement Monday praising the decision.

“Northwestern considers its students who participate in NCAA Division I sports, including those who receive athletic scholarships, to be students, first and foremost. We applaud our players for bringing national attention to these important issues, but we believe strongly that unionization and collective bargaining are not the appropriate methods to address the concerns raised by student-athletes.”

The NCAA also called the decision “appropriate” via a statement on Twitter.

Pat Fitzgerald, head coach of the Northwestern football team, praised the students maturity during the process, but did not offer an opinion on the issue.

“Our young men chose to attend Northwestern to compete on the field at the highest level, earn a world-class education and prepare for the rest of their lives,” he said in a statement aggregated by University officials. “They have displayed maturity beyond their years through this process, and the experience has unquestionably brought us closer together as a football family.”

He pointed out the current group of players posted “the highest cumulative GPA in program history during the 2014-15 academic year.”

On January 28, 2014, Northwestern University grant-in-aid scholarship football players filed a petition for a representation election with the National Labor Relations Board’s Region 13 office, seeking representation by the College Athletes Players Association for the purpose of collective bargaining.