Dartmouth College's men's basketball team is opting to withdraw its historic union petition ahead of a possible challenge from President-elect Donald Trump's administration, according to a report.
The players voted 13-2 in March to join a union in what was an unprecedented move that threatened to upend the multi-billion-dollar industry of college sports.
At the time, the players joined the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, Local 560, which represents other Dartmouth workers.
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But on Tuesday, they withdrew that petition, The New York Times reported. The move was largely meant to protect a favorable federal ruling that the team won — and which could have faced a challenge from the incoming Trump administration, who's set to take office again Jan. 20.
The Times reported that the union recognized that the National Labor Relations Board under Trump may not be as receptive to their argument that the players should be classified as hourly workers, as other students who have campus jobs.
“While our strategy is shifting, we will continue to advocate for just compensation, adequate health coverage and safe working conditions for varsity athletes at Dartmouth,” Chris Peck, union president, said in a statement to the Times.
Dartmouth told the newspaper it supported the decision to withdraw and said the school continues to believe there was no legal precedent to classify student-athletes as employees. Dartmouth "has deep respect for our 1,500 union colleagues," the college said.
“In this isolated instance, however, we did not believe unionization was appropriate," the college added.
