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Michigan Pre-Emptively Ends Unionized College Athlete Issue


Late last month, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation that excluded public college and university athletes in Michigan from the definition of "public employees" entitled to collectively bargain under Michigan law.  The bill, H.B. 6074, in effect bars college athletes from unionizing.  

Note that the legislation stated that the purpose of the bill was to ensure "that college athletes are students, first and foremost, and should not be treated as employees by their schools."  Interesting way to phrase it, though it is probably spot on.

For those that have been keeping up, we are still awaiting word from the National Labor Relations Board on whether the football players at Northwestern University can unionize.  It is important to remember that a similar bill in Illinois would likely not have had any impact on the events at Northwestern University, as that is a private university.  The bill passed in Michigan last month impacts only public colleges and universities.  


Additional information can be found here:  http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/12/16/michigan-legislature-student-athlete-union-bill

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