NAICU Joins in an Amicus Brief in Northwestern Case Arguing that Athletes are Students and not Employees

NAICU has joined ACE and three other higher education associations in an amicus brief to the National Labor Relations Board on the question of whether student-athletes (in this case, football players) are eligible to form a union and bargain collectively about the terms of their participation in their sport. The brief argues that, as a matter of both law and fact, these athletes are students and not employees, and therefore not subject to the National Labor Relations Act.

At an earlier stage of the case, Northwestern football players had voted in an election supervised by the local office of the NLRB. Those ballots were then sealed and will be counted only after the Board rules in this case.

However the NLRB decides, it is likely that their ruling will be appealed through the federal court, a process that usually takes several years.

For more information, please contact:
Jon Fuller