The Battle over Northwestern Football’s Ability to Unionize

The Battle over Northwestern Football’s Ability to Unionize

By James Allegretti 

A recent post from Inside Higher Ed describes an incredibly important conflict occurring in Evanston. The article deals with the Northwestern University football team and whether they have the right to form a union. Northwestern University has urged the National Relations Labor Board to not classify the football players as university employees. Such a decision would reverse the regional director’s decision that had previously labelled the players as employees. Eight other private universities, six Republican members of Congress, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have filed amicus briefs to support the school in Evanston. The NCAA is particularly worried about how such a decision could affect the future of collegiate athletics.

The Northwestern football players had originally gone before the Chicago regional office of the labor board to unionize, and the director of the office agreed that scholarship football players at private universities were, in fact, employees. There was a similar case that the labor board dealt with in 2004 in which the National Relations Labor Board ruled that Brown University graduate teaching assistants were not eligible for collective bargaining. The director of the regional board distinguished between these two cases by asserting that unlike graduate students, whose teaching and research duties were closely linked to their graduate degree requirements, the football duties that the Northwestern University football players have are unrelated to their academic studies. Northwestern University is arguing that the decision concerning Brown University was correct and the problem with the regional board’s ruling is that they did not correctly apply the Brown decision to the case regarding Northwestern football players. 

The case will not only have an important effect in Evanston, IL but will affect private universities throughout the United States. The case regarding employment status at Northwestern is extremely important because it will play an important role on matters such as the compensation of collegiate football players and benefits that they are entitled to such as workers’ compensation.

What should I know about workers’ compensation in Illinois?

The state of Illinois changed a few aspects of the law regarding workers’ compensation in 2011, so it is important that you inform yourself regarding workers’ compensation laws and how they might affect a potential claim. An example of the change in laws regards the ability to pick doctors for treatment. Before the update, employees could choose two doctors for treatment. If they were unhappy with the treatment from the first doctor, they could find another doctor to provide care. The new legislation allows for the employee to see similarly see two doctors, although these doctors must be within an employer’s network of providers. This is known as the Preferred Provider Programs (PPP) and these providers must be approved by the Department of Insurance. Employees can decide to not participate in that program, but only have the ability to consult with one doctor outside of the network.

If you have questions regarding workers’ compensation and are in the greater Chicago area, you should contact Allegretti & Associates. We are here to help you obtain the workers’ compensation benefits to which you are rightfully entitled.