Dartmouth Basketball Team Drops Groundbreaking Union Push (2)

The union that won the nation’s first representation election for a college sports team has withdrawn its federal labor board case to make Dartmouth College recognize the union for its men’s basketball team.

The Service Employees International Union Local 560 pulled back its representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, according to the agency’s website.

The union won the election in March by a 13-2 vote after NLRB Regional Director Laura Sacks declared the players employees under federal labor law. Dartmouth has contested the election results, refusing to bargain with SEIU and seeking full board review of Sacks’ ruling.

The withdrawal marks a blow to efforts to organize collegiate sports programs and comes amid a looming Republican majority on the board, which would likely reverse Sacks’ decision. Federal labor law doesn’t allow for direct judicial review of representation cases, leaving unions without an avenue to change unfavorable board rulings.

By dropping the petition, the union seeks to “preserve the precedent set by this exceptional group of young people,” SEIU Local 560 President Chris Peck said in a statement Tuesday.

“They have pushed the conversation on employment and collective bargaining in college sports forward and made history,” he said. “While our strategy is shifting, we will continue to advocate for just compensation, adequate health coverage, and safe working conditions for varsity athletes at Dartmouth.”

The union filed a separate unfair labor practice charge in August against the college over its refusal to bargain. That case is still awaiting a trial date.

NLRB prosecutors also are litigating an unfair labor practice case against the NCAA, the University of Southern California, and the Pac-12 Conference over charges that the three entities are joint employers that are improperly misclassifying the university’s basketball and football players as students rather than employees. These charges also face an uncertain future with President-elect Donald Trump scheduled to take office in January.

Even without the Dartmouth petition, the NCAA and the Ivy League still face antitrust and wage and hour lawsuits from athletes seeking to gain protections and higher pay.

Jana Barnello, a Dartmouth spokesperson, said the college “supports” the decision to withdraw the petition.

“Dartmouth maintains that the Regional Director’s decision finding that the student-athletes were employees was incorrect and not supported by legal precedent,” Barnello said in a statement. “We will continue to support our men’s basketball team and all our students in their athletic endeavors.”

The case is Trs. of Dartmouth Coll., N.L.R.B., No. 01-RC-325633, petition withdrawn 12/31/24.