Dartmouth College basketball players voted Tuesday to unionize. This is a historic step towards collegiate sports' first unionization, and could have far-reaching implications for other amateur athletes.
Members of the Ivy League school's men's basketball team voted 13-2 to join the Service Employees International Union Local 560, which already represents some of Dartmouth's workers. Forming a union would allow players to negotiate over working conditions such as practice time and travel, as well as pay.
“Today is a big day for our team,” players Cade Haskins and Romeo Mircil said in a statement. “We came together all season and won this election. It's self-evident that as students, we can be both campus employees and union members. Dartmouth seems stuck in the past. Amateurism It's time for the era to end.'' ”
Dartmouth administrators have five days to object to the vote and 10 days to file an appeal, according to a statement released Tuesday by the National Labor Relations Board. If the university does not object to the transfer, it would be required to negotiate labor contracts in good faith with the players.
Dartmouth, based in Hanover, New Hampshire, previously opposed the union's move, arguing that its basketball players are not university employees.
“For Ivy League students who are varsity athletes, academics are of paramount importance and athletic pursuits are part of the educational experience,” the university said in a statement Tuesday. “It is both unprecedented and inaccurate to classify these students as employees just because they play basketball. Therefore, we do not believe that unionization is appropriate. I’m not thinking about it.”
—This is breaking news and will be updated soon. As reported by the Associated Press.
