nortwestern football players looking to join a union

[TNsnyper20]

Ask my dad about how the union helped him

They negotiated them right out of a job.

Ask all the Goodyear workers in Union City. Oh, thats right, the Union negotiated all those workers out of a job

Just like someone said, Unions, at one time, were great. Then they too got greedy and power hungry. Majority was run by the mob.

Now we have labor laws to protect people from the ugly, mean, job creators

Union facilities are the first ones to be closed when down sizing happens. I've seen it all to many times.

I also don't see the logic in a Union. You pay a fee to be "represented". And when things don't go your way you go kicking and screaming like a two year old aka strike, only to get a slight pay bump. Which then gets wiped out by the increase in Union dues.

Sign me up! Lol

 

[95 Vol Alum]

1) they should be paid something. And it ought to be uniform, across the board. I'm thinking everyone on the scholarship roster at a D1 school gets like 750/mo, plus current tuition room board books etc. No variation permitted.

2) catastrophic disability insurance.

3) health insurance.

They're only proposing this for the "money making sports" of basketball & football, not swimmers, track, volleyball, etc. Seems unfair.

I would think insurance for all athletes would begin the slow death of most college athletics programs and a backlash against this effort.

 

[Hardwood_fanatic]

Seriously. If forbidding us from getting to enjoy our hands being crushed in the mill with no workman's comp. or job security afterwards wasn't bad enough, then they all had to go and get us that stinking minimum wage. Bastards!

They also created janitors who make 32.50 an hour at the GM corvette plant, resulting in a goveremt bailout on our dime.

They also are responsible for the longshoreman getting 11 weeks paid vacation on top of a 6 figure salary, and damn near shutting down our ports for crucial economic import and export business.

Their usefulness has come and gone.

 

[Vols4life]

Pretty sure the schools take care of all the athletes surgeries and health bills while they're on scholarship!! I'd love to have these D1 athletes wanting to be paid and stuff know who Sallie Mae is! Give me their full ride any day of the week!!!

 

[onevol74]

Those dam unions have never done anything except try to tear down republicans. all republicans should go to their bosses and employers immediately and tell them they do not want to participate in these items those evil democrat unions have helped create!!

Weekends
All Breaks at Work, including your Lunch Breaks
Paid Vacation
FMLASick Leave
Social Security
Minimum Wage
Civil Rights Act/Title VII (Prohibits Employer Discrimination)
8-Hour Work Day
Overtime Pay
Child Labor Laws
Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
40 Hour Work Week
Worker's Compensation (Worker's Comp)
Unemployment Insurance
Pensions
Workplace Safety Standards and Regulations
Employer Health Care Insurance
Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees
Wrongful Termination Laws
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Whistleblower Protection Laws
Employee Polygraph Protect Act (Prohibits Employer from using a lie detector test on an employee)
Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS)
Compensation increases and Evaluations (Raises)
Sexual Harassment Laws
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Holiday Pay
Employer Dental, Life, and Vision Insurance
Privacy Rights
Pregnancy and Parental Leave
Military Leave
Public Education for Children
Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 (Requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work)
Laws Ending Sweatshops in the United States

You are wrong about working weekends. They were instituted by Henry Ford not the unions. Just another falsehood promoted by unions.


How the 40-hour work week came to be
During the Industrial Revolution, factories needed to be running around the clock so employees during this era frequently worked between 10-16 hour days.

In the 1920s however, it was Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, that established the 5-day, 40-hour work week.


Henry Ford next to a 1921 Model-T
Surprisingly, Ford didn’t do it for scientific reasons (or solely for the health of his employees). Rather, one of the main reasons he came up with the idea to reduce the working hours of his staff was so employees would have enough free time to go out and realize they needed to buy stuff.

In an interview published in World’s Work magazine in 1926, Ford explains why he switched his workers from a 6-day, 48-hour workweek to a 5-day, 40-hour workweek but still paid employees the same wages:


Leisure is an indispensable ingredient in a growing consumer market because working people need to have enough free time to find uses for consumer products, including automobiles. — Henry Ford


So the 8-hour work day, 5-day workweek wasn’t chosen as the way to work for scientific reasons; instead, it was partly driven by the goal of increasing consumption.

 

[onevol74]

What could happen is the judge might rule in their favor and then you'll start seeing volleyball, baseball, softball, soccer, etc. being dropped by all small universities and eventually the D1 schools...

How do you police this? Do you pay them all the same?

Actually it would be the end of college football and basketball too. If the paying public had to pay to watch pro or semi-pro sports they will move their money to the big leagues. The colleges would have to weigh their options if college athletics would continue to be worthwhile.

 

[Rocky_Top_Vol13]

Colleges are institutions of higher learning. Participating in any athletics are secondary. Athletes who choose to participate in athletics are compensated by scholarships and/or benefits allotted to that program that are not offered to the general school population. If these athletes are butt hurt over not getting their piece of the pie then revoke ALL scholarships, pay these athletes 15K a year and then turn around and charge them that much, or more in some cases, for tuition, books, their own meal plans ect.... Show them the life of an average college student and then maybe they will realize how good they actually have it.

 

[Grand Vol]

Still trying to figure out how someone thought this was a good idea.

Northwestern isn't exactly your local community college and that degree still carries weight in the real world. And being that the majority of the players, I'd go so far as to say most, will never move on to the NFL, that's something they would probably pay off more in the long run than "collective bargaining rights" during their four years in college.

The university doesn't have to give them scholarships. And furthermore, paying athletes can have significant drawbacks that these idiots haven't thought about yet. If they are on a pay status, there is no reason to offer them scholarships, right? No free room and board? No access to the university training facilities unless you pay your yearly fee up front? No physical therapy equipment or use? And all the money saved goes right back into the university coffers. I remember when I was young and had no idea what the consequences would be for being an idiot.

If I was the AD I'd pull young Colter and the coach into my office and ask how he was prepared to pay the next semesters tuition, housing and meals when he loses his scholarship and goes on a pay scale.

 

[rocktopper16]

I have a good friend who plays softball for FSU. She gets unlimited medical attention. Personal trainers & nutrionist. A huge buffet bar They pay for all of her books & they have a allowance to spend on food for your dorm and that's paid for too . I can understand if they want medical attention after they days of college are over. College athletes are replaceable.

 

[Grand Vol]

I have a good friend who plays softball for FSU. She gets unlimited medical attention. Personal trainers & nutrionist. A huge buffet bar They pay for all of her books & they have a allowance to spend on food for your dorm and that's paid for too . I can understand if they want medical attention after they days of college are over. College athletes are replaceable.

I could agree that the college could be/should be responsible in case of accidents where you lose the ability to fulfill your athletic scholarship. At the very least, let the athlete continue their education under the same academic conditions that were imposed on their athletic scholarship and have them finish school. It's the least a university could do for the time and effort an athlete puts in.

 

[rocktopper16]

I could agree that the college could be/should be responsible in case of accidents where you lose the ability to fulfill your athletic scholarship. At the very least, let the athlete continue their education under the same academic conditions that were imposed on their athletic scholarship and have them finish school. It's the least a university could do for the time and effort an athlete puts in.

I agree with this. Getting a college education for free is paying you. I guess they really don't know how much college really cost.

 

[Rocky_Top_Vol13]

I agree with this. Getting a college education for free is paying you. I guess they really don't know how much college really cost.

This is basically the point I was trying to make earlier...

 

[Boca Vol]

I agree with this. Getting a college education for free is paying you. I guess they really don't know how much college really cost.

Great points. Maybe they should have to pay taxes on the tuition, books, meals, etc. they receive. That would end this talk immediately.

 

[LSU-SIU]

Colleges are institutions of higher learning. Participating in any athletics are secondary. Athletes who choose to participate in athletics are compensated by scholarships and/or benefits allotted to that program that are not offered to the general school population. If these athletes are butt hurt over not getting their piece of the pie then revoke ALL scholarships, pay these athletes 15K a year and then turn around and charge them that much, or more in some cases, for tuition, books, their own meal plans ect.... Show them the life of an average college student and then maybe they will realize how good they actually have it.

I don't see how your comments address the huge problems the NCAA/Schools has. Paying them is only one part of the problem and paying them would actually re-enforce the other issues which you didn't address.

So, you say let School A pay Player A $15k to play then charge him, right, well School B will up it and say they will pay $20k and no tuition charge. At that point the student is an employee of the school.

I am not sure the student's are per see "employees" but they sure are "contractors". IMHO under law there is no such thing as student-athlete, this is a made up term the schools use so that they don't follow existing law.

I have no idea why DAs around the country allow the sports racket at the college and professional level to continue.

 

[Grand Vol]

Great points. Maybe they should have to pay taxes on the tuition, books, meals, etc. they receive. That would end this talk immediately.

Just for reference:

Northwestern Sets 2013-2014 Costs: Northwestern University News

Undergraduate tuition at Northwestern University will increase 4 percent to $45,120 for the 2013-2014 academic year from the current year’s $43,380, University officials announced today.

Room and board rates will increase 4 percent to $13,862 from $13,329 for an undergraduate student living in a double room with a full meal plan option. Approximately 4,100 of Northwestern’s 8,400 undergraduate students live in University residence halls.

Total undergraduate tuition, fees, room and board at Northwestern will increase 4 percent to $59,389 in 2013-2014 from the current year’s $57,108.

So without adding increases over a four year period and not even getting started into the medical/physical therapy, use of athletic facilities off limits to the remainder of the student body and (probably) tutoring services the amount ends up being $228K.

But they aren't getting paid...

 

[Velo Vol]

Putting aside the union stuff, how's it fair that everyone else making money except the athletes?

 

[LSU-SIU]

Great points. Maybe they should have to pay taxes on the tuition, books, meals, etc. they receive. That would end this talk immediately.

Actually it would make it worse for the NCAA, as there are minimum wage laws, health care laws, workman's comp, etc.

Furthermore, there really should be nothing stopping an player from getting funds from 3rd parties.

What is going to happen is the NCAA will have to get out of the way of administration of the players outside of the four corners of the football field.

 

[UGA insider]

I agree with this. Getting a college education for free is paying you. I guess they really don't know how much college really cost.

You have to look at reality. The majority of college football and basketball players are recruited to be athletes first students second, there's no denying that. They are recruited to major programs with the promises of being developed to make it to the next level.

Furthermore, some of these athletes would never get into school if not for their athletic ability.

 

[Orange Bison]

This is so over the top ridiculous. Will the players contribute to union dues, negotiate contracts, and go on strike if they don't like their "working" conditions.

 

[LSU-SIU]

Putting aside the union stuff, how's it fair that everyone else making money except the athletes?

Like the guy on ESPN said, this was a long time coming. The problem is simple, for some reason the college and pro sports complexes are able to run blackmail, organized crime, and collusion operations without the fear of prosecution.

 

[LSU-SIU]

This is so over the top ridiculous. Will the players contribute to union dues, negotiate contracts, and go on strike if they don't like their "working" conditions.

I don't see why they couldn't. Not ridiculous at all, if anything this makes more sense the last 100 years of college sports.

 

[onevol74]

Putting aside the union stuff, how's it fair that everyone else making money except the athletes?

Real fair. Grad students participate in research projects that benefit others and they do not get paid but have a chance to build a resume just like an athlete does. Athletes should not be shown favoritism in consideration of other academic students.

This is nothing more than the fact that we live in an age of entitlement.

 

[volfanhill]

I agree with this. Getting a college education for free is paying you. I guess they really don't know how much college really cost.

Except that in all honesty coaches, admin, and fans don't care except from a compliance piece. That is why you have the whole UNC scandal take place. Here Johnny take these classes to stay eligible not to learn anything.

 

[Orange Bison]

I don't see why they couldn't. Not ridiculous at all, if anything this makes more sense the last 100 years of college sports.

It's just plain simple silliness.

 

[jp1]

1) they should be paid something. And it ought to be uniform, across the board. I'm thinking everyone on the scholarship roster at a D1 school gets like 750/mo, plus current tuition room board books etc. No variation permitted.

2) catastrophic disability insurance.

3) health insurance.

So pay them $11,500 a year plus tuition, room/board? Have you lost your mind? Thats an extra million dollars just for the football teams alone.

Then you would see alot of collegiate sports fold up shop. Is that what you want?

Then what stops the Johnny Footballs of the world demanding more money?

They all have a choice....they can either play or not. I'm still paying back loans to UT (15 years later). I worked my ass off in college just to have food and a place to stay.