Snyder bans student athletes from unionizing
Junior wide receiver Courtney Williams walks off the field after a loss against Toledo, Sept. 16, 2014. Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill into law December 2014, that bans college athletes from forming a workers union.
Unionization is illegal for Michigan student athletes, thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Rick Snyder, late December 2014.
After being passed by the Michigan Legislature during a “lame duck” session which ended Dec. 19, Snyder signed Public Act 414, previously known as House Bill 6074, into law Tuesday, Dec. 30.
The law, intended to “prohibit strikes by certain public employees,” also requires “certain provisions in collective bargaining agreements”
It specifically excludes college athletes from being public employees thus banning them from collective bargaining.
“The bill would ensure that college athletes are students, first and foremost, and should not be treated as employees by their schools,” read a press release from Snyder’s office.
According to the bill, college athletes do not qualify as public employees, or have “sufficient indicia if an employer-employee relationship” based on a 20-factor test instituted by the internal revenue service.
The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Al Pscholka R-Saginaw.
In August, a federal court in California ruled, in an anti-trust class action case brought against the National Collegiate Athletics Association, that collegiate athletes could be paid for use of their likeness in "video games, live telecasts and other footage."
Keep reading Central Michigan Life for updates and university reaction.
