No talks of college athlete union despite national movement

Raul Alvarez/Contributing Writer

As of 2011, the University’s football team brought in a total of $25,201,564. That means that after only nine active years, the program made as much money as Drake did when he struck success in the hip-hop business.

FIU’s superstars — the players — did not see a dime of that in the form of a salary. College football players are not paid in wages, but rather in stipends, scholarships and room and board.

But the National College Players Association has filed a petition in Chicago with the National Labor Relations Board requesting an election to form the first ever union for college athletes: a movement publicized as a way for college athletes to be recognized as University employees and paid as such.

Several members of the Northwestern University football team have supported the petition with quarterback Kain Colter spearheading the move. If Labor Board certifies the group, it will be called the College Athletes Players Association.

FIU’s players are not joining the movement, however.

“Yeah I’ve heard about it, but only from what’s on ESPN,” said Jordan Budwig, a lineman at FIU. “Nobody here is talking about joining or forming a union. From what I know, it’s something that private schools are doing.”

[pullquote]“Nobody here is talking about joining or forming a union,” said Jordan Budwig, a lineman at FIU.[/pullquote]

While the movement has been publicized as a one for pay, the president of the National College Players Association said the point is to improve conditions for student-athletes overall.

The association has outlined 11 goals including raising scholarships, paying for sports-related medical expenses and eliminating restrictions on legitimate employment and opportunities for commercial benefits.

National Labor Relations Board Regional Director Peter Sung Ohr kicked off a hearing on Feb. 12 to determine whether the players have a legal right to union representation under the National Labor Relations Act.

A spokesperson for the Chicago regional office said in a statement that Ohr will rule on the decision within the next month. The United Steelworkers union is covering the NCPA’s legal fees.

The grey area is whether players are employees of their universities or just student-athletes.

The NCAA insists that college football players are student-athletes instead of employees, meaning that they are not entitled to the labor rights which workers enjoy under the National Labor Relations Act, including the right to form a union.

Goals also include minimizing brain trauma risks, increasing graduation rates, protecting educational opportunities, prohibiting universities from eliminating a scholarship due to injury, establishing safety guidelines, prohibiting punishment of an athlete who has not committed a violation, guaranteeing athletic release if a student wishes to transfer schools and allowing athletes to transfer schools one time without punishment.

Professor Lorna Veraldi, who teaches media law and ethics at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, expressed skepticism over this kind of union.

“They would have to enforce union discipline and make sure that nobody goes off and bargains deals on their own, which could mean student athletes having to give up scholarships,” Veraldi said.

CAPA, in this case, would have to ensure that its athletes do not lose what they cannot gain back through the union, or the plan will fail.

According to Veraldi, unions do not form easily. She noted a hostile environment toward unions for the past 50 years and said it would need to muster financial support, combat threats from employers and overcome laws that disadvantage unions.

“I’m curious to see how it would be structured,” Veraldi said. “Unions are only strong if the individuals involved put their individual interests aside and stick together.”

 -news@fiusm.com