In a surprise move, the National Labor Relations Board announced on Monday that it would not assert jurisdiction over college football athletes, contrary to what many expected following the March 2014 decision of the Chicago district of the NLRB regarding football players on scholarship at Northwestern University. The Board reasoned that intervening on behalf of the players of a single school would not serve to promote stability in labor relations. A substantial factor in that decision, no doubt, was the fact that “[b]y statute the Board does not have jurisdiction over state-run colleges and universities, which constitute 108 of the roughly 125 [Football Bowl Subdivision] teams.”
Significantly, the Board did not assert that it did not have the authority to assert jurisdiction over Northwestern, simply that it would not at this time, a move that numerous commentators characterized as “punting” on the issue (unable to resist the pun). The Board also made clear that this decision did not preclude a change in policy on the issue in the future. This decision also does not impact recent changes made by the NCAA in the wake of the O’Bannon ruling.
Find the full opinion here: https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/nlrb-director-region-13-issues-decision-northwestern-university-athletes
Other coverage: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13455477/nlrb-says-northwestern-players-cannot-unionize
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/08/17/sports/ap-us-college-athletes-excerpts.html?_r=0
http://chronicle.com/article/NLRB-s-Northwestern-Ruling/232441/