Dartmouth Basketball Team Halts Historic Unionization Effort

The team withdrew its petition to the NLRB, citing concerns over an unfavorable ruling under the incoming Trump administration.

Dartmouth's men's basketball team voted 13-2 in March 2024 to unionize, becoming the first certified bargaining unit of college athletes in U.S. history.
The union, SEIU Local 560, filed a request to withdraw the petition to preserve a favorable precedent from the current pro-labor NLRB under President Biden.
The decision was influenced by the anticipated Republican-controlled NLRB under President-elect Trump, which could set a precedent against recognizing college athletes as employees.
Dartmouth College maintained its position that student-athletes are not employees and refused to bargain with the union, calling unionization inappropriate for Ivy League athletes.
The case highlights ongoing legal and political battles over the classification of college athletes as employees, a shift that could challenge the NCAA's amateurism model and reshape college sports.