{
  "id": "R43713",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R43713",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
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      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 438445,
      "date": "2014-08-26",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T22:54:14.709119",
      "title": "The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Right of Northwestern University Football Players to Unionize: Background and Related Issues",
      "summary": "In late January 2014, a group of students who play football for Northwestern University filed a representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The students are seeking to be represented by the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA), a newly created labor organization. CAPA contends that college football and basketball players, particularly those who compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), are essentially employees given the amount of time they commit to athletics, the revenue they generate for their schools, and their receipt of compensation in the form of scholarships. If the Northwestern players are found to be employees for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), they will be permitted to engage in collective bargaining over the terms and conditions of their employment.\nThis report provides an overview of the NLRA, and reviews the March 2014 decision by the NLRB\u2019s regional director, which concluded that the Northwestern players are employees under the act. The report examines the concerns raised by both the university and CAPA. The report also discusses other developments that could affect unionization efforts by athletes at private colleges and universities. In August 2014, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors gave new authority to five conferences\u2014consisting of 65 public and private colleges and universities\u2014to provide greater financial support to student-athletes. Also, an August 2014 U.S. District Court decision will allow NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and basketball schools to use revenue from the use of players\u2019 names, images, or likenesses to provide greater financial support to athletes.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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}