UGA & Ga Tech football off the hook - athletes cannot form union

The National Labor Relations Board today declined to consider whether football players at Northwestern University were covered under provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

As a result, players at Northwestern University will not be allowed to form a union.

Since Northwestern University is a private institution, and not a state-run university, there was a possibility that its players might have fallen under the rules of the NLRA and be permitted to form a union.

Although any ruling would not apply to state universities, such as the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech, it was thought that a ruling in favor of the Northwestern players would put pressure on other NCAA Division I schools to provide some sort of similar "association" for their athletes.

Today's decision specifically indicated that the NLRB would be open to reconsider the issue at a later date.

From the National Labor Relations Board release issued today (Aug. 17, 2015):

In a unanimous decision, the National Labor Board declined to assert jurisdiction in the case involving Northwestern University football players who receive grant-in-aid scholarships. The Board did not determine if the players were statutory employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  Instead, the Board exercised its discretion not to assert jurisdiction and dismissed the representation petition filed by the union. 

In the decision, the Board held that asserting jurisdiction would not promote labor stability due to the nature and structure of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). By statute the Board does not have jurisdiction over state-run colleges and universities, which constitute 108 of the roughly 125 FBS teams. In addition, every school in the Big Ten, except Northwestern, is a state-run institution.  As the NCAA and conference maintain substantial control over individual teams, the Board held that asserting jurisdiction over a single team would not promote stability in labor relations across the league.

This decision is narrowly focused to apply only to the players in this case and does not preclude reconsideration of this issue in the future.

Additional information on this case can be found here. 

CWA bargaining with AT&T continues

Bargaining between AT&T Southeast and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) continues after their contract expired on Aug. 1.

Informational picketing is occurring at various sites around the Southeast including in Louisiana and Georgia.

This past Saturday, CWA scheduled an informational picket and rally at AT&T building in Midtown Atlanta.

CWA is reporting that AT&T "continues to insist on open-ended hiring of temporary workers and cuts in healthcare and retirement security. The company has not responded to workers' concerns about excessive amounts of forced overtime hours that make meeting family and personal needs extremely difficult, if not impossible."

Read more at: http://www.cwa-union.org/

AT&T and CWA workers in Georgia continue negotiations after contract expires

August 9, 2015, statement by the Communications Workers of America District 3, as 28,000 AT&T Southeast workers continue without a contract while negotiations continue.

Atlanta -- Today we are continuing negotiations with AT&T.  The issues that AT&T workers are facing have a direct impact on our communities and our families. We are your friends and neighbors, and our communities are important to us.  Often times in contract negotiations, we hear only about money.

But these negotiations are about respect, a better quality of family life and keeping good jobs in our communities.

AT&T is a very profitable company and our members do deserve to be compensated fairly.

But something that’s very important to workers at AT&T is a chance to spend more time with their families. Right now, AT&T forces employees to work an unlimited amount of overtime hours. That’s excessive and keeps parents from spending time with their children and balancing their work and family lives.

AT&T workers serve our customers on a daily basis and are the backbone and the face of this company. We all want to be treated with dignity and respect in the work place. That’s what these negotiations are all about.

AT&T is an extremely profitable company, with second quarter revenues topping $33 billion.  AT&T also recently completed a $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV.  Workers are being very reasonable, but AT&T is following a greedy agenda. Workers are committed to getting a fair contract and are holding actions and building support in communities throughout the nine southeastern states. It’s time for AT&T to do the right thing, and that’s to treat employees fairly.