(04-09-2014 11:24 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-09-2014 11:00 AM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  I predicted the politicians would step in, but this is sooner than I expected. Of course federal law trumps state law, but such a rapid reaction at the state level suggests Congress won't be averse to involving itself in the issue.

But state entities are specifically exempted from NLRA so Ohio taking action to declare that student-athletes are not the covered employees for their state union law is interesting given the perception that Ohio is politically more favorable to unions than say Alabama or Texas.

Ohio is a divided state. When Democrats (whose strongholds are in industrial, union-dominated inner cities in the Northern part of the state) are in power, it's the most pro-union state in the country.

But right now Republicans (whose strongholds are the rural counties and Cincinnati suburbs) control the statehouse. There is even serious talk about becoming a right-to-work state. If it passes, right-to-work will be repealed as soon as Democrats regain control, but it's still interesting that it's even being debated.

At my school all of the students were employees. But I don't think the 'Annapolis Model" is exactly what these Northwestern players are looking for.