The Dartmouth Men’s Basketball team, represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 560, requested to withdraw its petition to unionize on December 31, 2024. The petition, approved by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) the same day, ended the first successful college athlete unionization effort in the nation. The timing of the withdrawal was likely a strategic choice to avoid review of NLRB Regional Director Laura Sacks’s (Sacks) declaration that the athletes are employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by the Board under the Trump Administration. Shortly after, on January 10, 2025, the National College Players Association formally requested to withdraw its pending unfair labor practice charge against the NCAA, Pac-12, and the University of Southern California, stating it “believes that it is best to provide adequate time for the college sports industry to transition into this new era before football and basketball players employee status is ruled upon.”
Despite this, union organizing on campuses remains strong and unions will likely continue to make gains amongst student workers. Graduate student bargaining units are increasing in popularity, and several wall-to-wall undergraduate student worker units were certified in 2024. While a Republican-led Board may be less friendly to campus unionization efforts, organized student groups can still put pressure on college administrations by aligning with unions. For example, SEIU Local 560 intends to support an Ivy League Players Association which aims to secure group licensing access for athletes. Student workers seeking to organize have also engaged in work stoppages, picketing, and other economic activity.
What this means for you
Institutions should prepare for union organizing before organizing efforts begin. Managers and supervisors should be trained on employee rights under Section 7 of the NLRA. Unwitting or well-meaning supervisors and managers curious about union activities can easily engage in unlawful surveillance, interrogation, or other conduct that may violate the NLRA.
If student employees file a petition for recognition, or for the approval of an election agreement, it will be paired with an extensive data request that may conflict with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). General Counsel Abruzzo issued a memorandum with guidance on steps institutions should take if presented with such a request as FERPA does not eliminate the need to respond. Due to the speed to which these requests must be responded, institutions should examine which records it believes will be FERPA-protected before the request is made.
[View source.]
