05-17-2026, 02:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-17-2026, 02:57 PM by StanfordMatt.)
There’s definitely a political element to consider.
For one, I wouldn’t expect any serious movement while a Republican is in the White House and the NLRB leans conservative. This is why the Dartmouth basketball players withdrew their petition to unionize after Trump’s election so as not to set an adverse precedent.
But once a Democrat retakes the White House, the unionization efforts will reignite. They’ll start in a liberal region where they have the best chance at success and they’ll break through just like the Dartmouth basketball players did in Region 1 (Boston). From there, it will spread.
Big Ten programs will probably go first (amongst the Power 2) because there are multiple in blue states. The political powers in Alabama and Mississippi won’t be happy about their labor unionizing, but they’ll come around real quick once they start losing recruiting battles to Michigan, Penn State, etc.
That’s my prediction.
For one, I wouldn’t expect any serious movement while a Republican is in the White House and the NLRB leans conservative. This is why the Dartmouth basketball players withdrew their petition to unionize after Trump’s election so as not to set an adverse precedent.
But once a Democrat retakes the White House, the unionization efforts will reignite. They’ll start in a liberal region where they have the best chance at success and they’ll break through just like the Dartmouth basketball players did in Region 1 (Boston). From there, it will spread.
Big Ten programs will probably go first (amongst the Power 2) because there are multiple in blue states. The political powers in Alabama and Mississippi won’t be happy about their labor unionizing, but they’ll come around real quick once they start losing recruiting battles to Michigan, Penn State, etc.
That’s my prediction.