My open letter to Northwestern’s student athletes: I’m not a labor-relations expert, but I have negotiated about 100 collective bargaining agreements in my time. Congratulations on your hard-fought campaign to earn the right to organize and negotiate as a union! As I understand it, the NLRB said that “student athletes” qualify as “employees” for purposes of bargaining. So you current members of the Wildcats football team should be in pretty good shape. However…given that economics (e.g., wages and benefits) and working conditions are generally considered mandatory bargaining subjects, I think you’ll understand that Northwestern probably won’t want to offer any new athletic scholarships to high school kids. After all, scholarship money is their biggest lever, and neither the University nor the players union will want this money being spent outside of the collective bargaining arena or outside of the bargaining unit itself (high school prospects are not members of the certified bargaining unit). So I’m guessing that future players will have to gain admittance to Northwestern on the merits of their high school academic performance and SAT’s. Then they’ll have to enroll in and attend classes, and then try out for – and earn – a spot on the team. Only then will they qualify as “student athletes” (i.e., “employees”) and be eligible to negotiate for financial support. This may impact the quality of the team that Northwestern can field (and it may impact the odds of you ever playing in the NFL) but – after all – this is about principles, right? It’s not all bad -- I understand that the Steelworkers are advising you. Have they told you about their commitment to the principle of seniority over all else? How cool will it be when the 352 pound defensive lineman in his last year of eligibility can claim the right to start at quarterback!
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 20:29:04 +0000
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