WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) met with representatives from the Northwestern (NU) football team and likeminded stakeholders to discuss their efforts to provide college athletes with a voice. The meeting follows a recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that Northwestern football players have the right to hold a union election. During the meeting, Brown expressed his support for the rights of NCAA athletes and offered his assistance to help them organize.

“The right to fair treatment is why all workers, no matter the job or venue, should have the opportunity to unionize,” Brown said. “College athletes dedicate the same hours to their sport as fulltime employees and deserve the same protections as any other worker. I offer whatever assistance I can to Mr. Colter and his colleagues to help athletes organize and ensure their rights are commensurate with their sacrifice and responsibilities.” 

Last month, the NLRB’s regional office in Chicago ruled that Northwestern University’s scholarship football players are employees of the university under the National Labor Relations Act and therefore have the right to unionize. NU plans to appeal this ruling to the full NLRB panel in Washington, D.C. Today’s meeting, which took place in Brown’s Capitol Hill office, was attended by:

  • Former NU quarterback, Kain Colter, who leads his former teammates’ efforts to unionize and co-founded the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA);
  • Ramogi Huma, President of the National Colleges Players Association (NCPA), an advocacy group for college athletes’ rights. Huma is also the current President of CAPA; and
  • Tim Waters, Political Director of the United Steelworkers (USW).

Brown continues to support American workers’ right to collectively bargain. In July, 2013, Brown applauded the Senate’s bipartisan confirmation of five Presidential nominees that allowed, for the first time during the Obama Administration, a fully operational NLRB. The nominations had been blocked since 2009, preventing the NLRB from fully carrying out its responsibilities, including enforcing the rights of private-sector American workers.

###