WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of a group seeking to unionize
college athletes are looking for allies on Capitol Hill as they brace
for an appeal of a ruling that said full scholarship athletes at
Northwestern University are employees who have the right to form a
union.
Former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter — the face of a
movement to give college athletes the right to unionize — and Ramogi
Huma, the founder and president of the National College Players
Association, scheduled meetings Wednesday with lawmakers.
Among
those they were to meet were Rep. George Miller of California, the top
Democrat on the House Education and Labor Committee; Rep. Jan
Schakowsky, D-Ill., whose district includes Northwestern; and Sen. Dick
Durbin, D-Ill.
The meetings were expected to provide a chance for
the athletes to spell out one of their chief concerns, which is
providing for the medical needs of athletes. Huma said the group also
was concerned that the NCAA would lobby Congress to prohibit unionizing
by college athletes.
"We want to make sure they have an opportunity to hear from us directly," Huma said.
In
a statement, Stacey Osburn, director of public and media relations for
the NCAA, said Huma’s concern was "unwarranted." A Northwestern official
has said that the students were not employees and that unionization and
collective bargaining were not the appropriate methods to address their
concerns.
"The law is fairly clear and consistent with
Northwestern’s position, so the NCAA has made no contacts with anyone in
Congress attempting to ban the unionization of student-athletes,"
Osburn said.
Last week’s ruling by a regional National Labor
Relations Board director in Chicago said Northwestern football players
on full scholarships are employees of the university and have the right
to form a union and bargain collectively.
While the athletes’
effort has generated some support among Democrats, Education Secretary
Arne Duncan and the White House have declined to comment on the ruling.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Rep. John Kline, R-Minn. — two
lawmakers influential on education and labor issues — came out against
it.
The university has said it would file a request for the full
board in Washington to review the decision. It has until April 9 to do
so.
The federal labor agency does not have jurisdiction over
public universities, so the push to unionize athletes has been primarily
targeted toward private schools such as Northwestern.
Opponents
say giving college athletes employee status and allowing them to
unionize could hurt college sports and higher education in numerous
ways.
___
Associated Press writers Tom Raum and Donna Cassata contributed to this report.
___
Follow Kimberly Hefling on Twitter: http://twitter.com/khefling
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.