The Dartmouth men's basketball team is no longer trying to form a union, ending their push to become the nation’s first college athlete’s union.
The Associated Press reports that the local Service Employees International Union Local 560 chapter requested to withdraw the team’s petition Tuesday anticipating a Republican controlled National Labor Relations Board in the coming year.
Players voted 13-2 to unionize in March forcing the question of whether college athletes are employees of the school.
The National Relations Labor Board ruled earlier in the year that the student-athletes can be considered employees, since they are compensated in other ways not involving money and perform work as their performance can raise donations and can serve as promotions for the school.
Dartmouth has said it would refuse to bargain with the players, and the school has made statements that the players were not employees of the college, since the students had elected to play the sport. .
The Ivy League, composed of eight research universities in the Northeast, filed an amicus brief asking the NLRB to reverse its decision on ruling that student-athletes can be employees. They argued that since students do not receive merit scholarships to participate in sports — which is prohibited by The Ivy League — and that compensating student athletes is not allowed the players should not be considered employees.
A union representative said the team is still seeking health coverage and safe working conditions.
