SPORTS

Members of Northwestern University’s football team are preparing to cast the ballots that will decide whether they will form a labor union. (The Daily Northwestern)

Use our resources to better understand unions and alliances.

Discussion Ideas

• Read through our excellent activity “Introduction to Unions and Alliances.” Adapt the activity’s questions to the union debate surrounding the Northwestern Wildcats.
  • What are some unions and alliances Wildcat players are already a part of?
    • their families, their friends, their teammates, fellow students in their classes, athletic conferences such as the NCAA and Big Ten
  • What are some unions and alliances Northwestern coaches and administrators are a part of?
    • their families, their friends, fellow staff members at Northwestern, athletic conferences such as the NCAA and Big Ten
  • What goals does the proposed union (National College Players Association) support?
    • The National College Players Association has cited “improved safety protections, scholarships that cover the full cost of attendance, and ongoing medical coverage after graduation for sports-related injuries” as its top priorities.
  • What goals do Northwestern coaches and administrators support?
    • According to the Daily Northwestern article, Northwestern wants to maintain the current system. This outstanding article from the New York Times outlines how the school is aggressively battling unionization.

• Read through two tiny articles addressing a major victory (“GM Recognizes UAW“) and a major defeat (“Reagan Fires Air-Traffic Controllers“) for organized labor unions. Do you think either of those outcomes will be repeated at Northwestern?
  • It’s unlikely either extreme will play out at Northwestern. The coach and most powerful players are anti-union, and the Daily Northwestern cautiously says “it begins to seem that’s [anti-union] how the team is leaning.” Additionally, the school is challenging the decision to even allow the players to vote, which means “it may be months before it is known out how the players voted,” according to CNN.
  • If the players do vote for a union, the university will probably (grudgingly) recognize it. Collective bargaining means the school will negotiate with the union representing all its player-members, not the individual members themselves. The National College Players Association will not have nearly the power of the United Auto Workers, however. The UAW represented hundreds of thousands of workers; the Northwestern group might represent a few dozen.
  • Although Northwestern is strongly, vocally advocating against unionization, it is unlikely they would (or even could) fire student athletes.

• This decision will directly impact very few people at a single wealthy private university near Chicago. Why is it national news?
  • Northwestern is a major, lucrative presence in college athletics—the Wildcats are an NCAA Division I team and a member of the Big Ten conference. Administrators and coaches, as well as the billion-dollar industry devoted to college sports, are all considering Northwestern a case study for other college players.
  • The debate has raised the issue about major reform of college athletics, regardless of the unionization vote. Sports columnists from CounterPunch to Forbes (!) are questioning the idea of the “student-athlete.”
  • The possibility of student athletes organizing in a way similar to professional athletes (see: NFL Players Association) would probably alter the way college sports are managed.