Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR NEWS—Dartmouth basketball players withdraw NLRB petition, cease unionization efforts, (Jan 2, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

With the new U.S. Presidential administration looming in the background, the union requested to withdraw its petition on the last day of year.

On December 31, 2024, SEIU Local 560 requested and received approval to withdraw its petition to represent members of the Dartmouth men’s varsity basketball team. “While our strategy is shifting,” Chris Peck, the president of SEIU Local 560 explained, “we will continue to advocate for just compensation, adequate health coverage, and safe working conditions for varsity athletes at Dartmouth.”

The petition was initially filed in September 2023 and, in 2024, in an unprecedented vote, the team came down in favor of unionizing. Prior to that, the NLRB declined to stay the scheduled election. However, the college continued to object to bargaining with the union after the vote, steadfastly contending the players were not employees, and in August the union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the New Hampshire college, citing its refusal to bargain.

According to the school, its refusal was an effort to force review of this issue by a federal court. “We expected this action would result in their filing an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB, which they did and which we will also appeal." With the union’s withdrawal, review by a potentially more hostile labor board and, ultimately, the federal courts, will no longer be necessary.

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