Northwestern acted quickly in stating its intention to challenge the ruling made by a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board. The university will get a chance to present its case to the NLRB, which decided Thursday it will listen to what the university has to say. The NLRB previously ruled in favor of Northwestern football players, stating they should be recognized by Northwestern as university employees.
Northwestern argues that scholarship players on the football team are not to be considered employees under the National Labor Relations act. If the university can sell its case, the NLRB could overrule the previous decision by the regional office in Chicago, which would then block the football players from establishing a formal union. The university had plans to challenge the ruling from the start of this whole process, so it is certainly no surprise.
Given the right to form a union, Northwestern football players are scheduled to vote on forming an official union on Friday. That vote will still be held, but the votes will be held and the results of the voting will be revealed after the NLRB hears the appeal from the university. The NLRB denies the appeal of the university, the union movement will continue at Northwestern if it receives enough votes.