BOSTON – The Dartmouth men's basketball team has scheduled an election for March 5 to determine whether players will unionize, a step that would be unprecedented in American college sports.
The National Labor Relations Board said the in-person election will be held at the school's campus in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Although the NCAA has long maintained that the players are “student-athletes” (a term created to emphasize that their education comes first), the NLRB's regional director in Boston ruled Monday that the players were essentially employees of the school.
That paved the way for a union election. The 15 team members had previously signed a petition asking to be represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 560, which already represents other Dartmouth staff members.
An NLRB spokeswoman said Dartmouth has until Feb. 20 to appeal the regional director's finding. The school has said it intends to do so.
