Northwestern football players seek to unionize; what does the development mean?

[madinmaryland]

Football players at Northwestern have requested representation from a labor union, Tom Farrey of ESPN’s Outside the Lines reports.

Ramogi Huma, president of the National College Players Association, filed a petition on behalf of Northwestern players that would essentially recognize college athletes as employees, according to the report.

The movement began when Wildcats quarterback Kain Colter reached out to Huma, a former UCLA linebacker, last year. Huma met with Northwestern players — an undisclosed number of whom had signed union cards filed with the National Labor Relations Board — last weekend.

Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips said in a statement that the Wildcat players are doing exactly what the university teaches.

Read more: http://college-football.si.com/2014/01/28/northwestern-football-kain-colter-labor-union/?eref=sihp

[Scuba]

1. It means the players have figured out they're being used as tools to make millions, yet ...

... hung out to dry when it comes to paying for their injuries.

[trotsky]

3. Exactly right.

And since so few actually go on to have a lucrative professional career, they are often being cheated out of a college education and degree that they can use to support themselves when pro sports don't pan out.

[El Supremo]

2. United Steelworkers is putting up the money?

Nowhere does this story mention that.

I'm not anti-union, but this is wrong because these "students" have the opportunity to make a hell of a lot of money after school. They should only be protected from the cost of injury. And I think they already are.

[TBF]

4. As much as I love unions

it seems to me that school is not the place for this. If injuries are an issue all athletes should have insurance coverage provided by the school. The university does make a lot of money off athletes in many ways. I have no problem with players' tuition, dorm, meals and medical care being covered. But pay for play seems like it doesn't belong in this setting - they are amateurs until they join the NFL.