In an announcement yesterday, Dartmouth College made it clear that it will not engage in collective bargaining with the men's basketball team's newly formed union, potentially teeing up a legal showdown that could eventually reach federal court. The Union, comprising the basketball team's players, recently joined forces with the Service Employees International Union Local 560—a movement certified by the National Labor Relations Board, as reported by Front Office Sports. The college stated it believes that "athletes in the Ivy League are not employees," arguing for the traditional notion of student-athletes as students first, athletes second.
Dartmouth's refusal to bargain seems to willfully invite further legal action. In their statement, obtained by NBC Boston, the college described their decision as "unprecedented," signaling a deep commitment to challenging the regional director's classification of student-athletes as employees. This hard stance is taken despite the NLRB's regional director ruling that the Dartmouth basketball players could legally be considered employees—a decision Dartmouth has already petitioned the full NLRB board to review.
The case has the potential to completely shake up the NCAA's current model, which leans heavily on the notion of amateurism. If Dartmouth players' unionizing efforts succeed, it could set the stage for collegiate athletes to receive wages, enhanced healthcare benefits, and workers' compensation, as detailed by Front Office Sports. Dartmouth's statement indicated their readiness to "negotiate in good faith with multiple unions representing Dartmouth employees," suggesting that their refusal is rooted in principle rather than practice.
Last in the unfolding drama was a statement from Local 560, issued late Monday, which claimed, "We are disappointed Dartmouth has taken the highly unusual step of publicly declaring its intention to flout the law, even inviting players to to file an unfair labor practice." They accused the $8 billion institution of deliberately ignoring the law to steer clear from negotiating fair wages and working conditions. "Dartmouth College is snubbing its nose at the NLRB and refusing to allow its directives. It isn’t right and it contravenes Dartmouth’s stated values," the union said, expressing their standpoint as cited by Front Office Sports. With the college dead set against bargaining and the players' union determined to press forward, the issue seems destined for a prolonged and possibly precedent-setting court battle.
