In what is seen as a surprising decision, the five-member National Labor Relations Board announced Monday that Northwestern’s football players cannot become the first college team to form a union, as the board unanimously voted not to assert its jurisdiction in the matter.
"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)," the NLRB announced in a statement. "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."
However, the NLRB said that its decision does not "preclude reconsideration of this issue in the future."
Read more at The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/08/17/in-unanimous-vote-nlrb-rejects-northwestern-football-teams-attempt-to-unionize/