Dartmouth College basketball players are employees, rules labor official

A regional director for the National Labor Relations Board on Monday ruled that varsity men’s basketball players at Dartmouth College have the right to unionize. The NLRB must hold a secret ballot for the players to vote on whether to join a local union, according to the ruling. Northeast regional director Laura Sacks ruled that the players are employees of the school “because Dartmouth has the right to control the work performed by the Dartmouth men’s basketball team, and the players perform that work in exchange for compensation.” The decision could pave the way to create the first labor union for National Collegiate Athletics Association athletes. The NLRB’s national office will review the decision.

How did this process start? All 15 team members in September signed a petition seeking to join Local 560 of the Service Employees International Union. The union chapter already represents other Dartmouth employees. Dartmouth spokeswoman Diana Lawrence told the college’s newspaper that the school will appeal the decision because it does not compensate its student athletes or provide them with athletic scholarships. 

Dig deeper: Read Ray Hacke’s report in WORLD Magazine about how college athletes are cashing in on name, image, and likeness rights.