College Athletes

College Athletes
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Labor unions are at least as old as the industrial economies and have been subjects of debate and controversy over long periods of time. Both sides agree that a union's objective is to advance its members interests and, therefore, exert pressures on employers for improved employment terms. However, controversy comes in when two issues become the centre of the argument (Bennet & Kaufman, 2011). First, the effects of unions that is their effect on performance, salaries and wages, welfare, and the workers. Second, involves judgment and evaluation that are; are unions beneficial for workers, are the methods they used for achieving their goals consistent, or is social welfare promoted by encouraging or discouraging unionism (Bennet & Kaufman, 2011). These arguments are the same ones facing the athletes at present and although changes are being made, there is evidence of continued opposition implying that the argument will still go on.
The National Labor Board in Chicago in the past month ruled that football players at the Northwestern University can unionize as they were declared employees and this is for the purpose of federal law. This finding was legal in nature and resulted from the fact that a majority of Northwestern football players had the desire to be unionized and represented by this union. With the help of the association of athlete players in colleges (CAPA), they filed a petition with the NLRB requesting to conduct an election to collectively bargain with the University (Shuler, 2014).
An article by Liz Shuler, the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, “Young People Understand Unions Can Solve Problems,” supports the unionization of college athletes. She further claims that the recent actions of the athletes in filling and winning the petition to receive benefits were remarkable and depicted a positive picture of the young people, higher education, and the role of unions (Shuler, 2014). The article discusses where the problem of receiving salaries originates from, how the universities are making money for these athletes, and what actions have been undertaken to address the issue.
The author is a labor activist and the only and youngest woman to hold the position of Secretary-Treasurer. She is historically the highest ranked woman in the labor federation and her election into office made it the first time two of the three positions of officers at AFL-CIO were held by women. Being the great labor unionist that she is, the article attracts many labor unionist and especially women who are inspired by her. In addition, since she supports formation of unions, the audience constitutes of athletes and other advocates for the unionization. This article takes a strong standpoint by from the beginning praises the actions of NLRB and praising the students who supported the unionization of athletes. She states, “The overwhelming majority of the talented young men who have been awarded scholarships to play on the Northwestern football team expressed their desire to be represented by a union. Therefore, they turned to the College Athletes Players Association to file a petition with the NLRB asking for an election to bargain collectively with the university.”
The author evidently supports unionization of workers and begins first commending the action of the players as it was a sign of young people, higher education, and the role of unions in the country. The author appeals to the audience by indicating the origin of the need for unionization. Understanding the background of these players gives insight to comprehend the rationale for the need of unionization. A good number of these players will never reach the Nation Football League (NFL) and are not allowed to work at another place without the athletic department (Shuler, 2014).
The author presents numerical figures and the means by which the Universities make money out of the athletes. This is by relinquishing to the University the right to use their names and images as they deem fit and contribute profits of approximately $5 to $10 million from the football program (Shuler, 2014). The players currently do not receive any income from these profits and the author suggests football is a tough and physical sport, in spite making such contributions to the University and the community. The players are pre-disposed to chronic injuries that may end their career and are not guaranteed medical care by the University. This is the problem and to address it, the players came together and formed a union that filed the petition (Shuler, 2014). Through the presentation of the above information, the author is able to appeal to the audience with the aim of making them sympathize with the athletes and support the unionization.
The author provides several statistical data regarding the actions of and she justifies the athletes' actions by indicating that they are acting according to their age. This is because 61% of individuals aged between 18 to 29 years old have views that favor unionization compared to 50% or less for other age groups according to Pew Research (Shuler, 2014). In addition, the youths are increasingly disregarding old-fashioned stereotypes and have realized that unions have the ability to foster and protect individual, talent, and creativity (Shuler, 2014).
The author further indicates the actions they have taken in supporting the athletes and by making such appeals can easily get support as she provides both qualitative and quantitative information. The author avoids mentioning any negative aspects of unionization and engages the reader to focus on the positive aspects of unionization and even goes further to provide evidence of positive steps that have been taken through the unionization (Shuler, 2014).
Bill Livingston who commonl...