Union May Put Label on Colleges

In a move believed to be the first attempt by a major union to organize college athletes, a former UCLA football player and United Steelworkers of America will announce today the formation of the Collegiate Athletes Coalition.

Ramogi Huma, a linebacker for the Bruins from 1995 through ‘98, will hold a news conference on campus today to unveil a group comprising virtually every current UCLA football player as well as several former players.

Shepherded by United Steelworkers--one of the country’s five largest unions--Huma’s organization will push for better insurance for student-athletes, increased monthly stipends and relaxed rules on how much money players can earn during the off-season.

Athletes in revenue-producing sports such as football and basketball have long felt that they earn money for university athletic departments but are not adequately compensated because of NCAA rules.

So far, the union has offered only guidance on how to organize the movement, which, Huma said, is expected to expand to include numerous other college football programs. But an official of the 700,000-member union said financial support could be on the way.

“These student-athletes are being exploited, and they’re unable to get out and fight because their hands are tied,” said Tim Waters of Pittsburgh, the union’s national coordinator for rapid response.

“The NCAA has done a masterful job of clouding the picture here and making student-athletes feel that if they speak up for themselves, they’re somehow speaking against the very institution that they put their bodies on the line for every Saturday.”

Although the UCLA movement is the furthest along, Waters said United Steelworkers is in negotiation with students from three Big Ten schools who are interested in doing the same thing.

Huma--along with former UCLA swimmer Emmanuelle Schick--contacted United Steelworkers by e-mail in the fall after several failed attempts to rally students to the cause.

“Before, it seemed like we were running in quicksand,” said Huma, a graduate student at UCLA’s school of public health. “We put in a whole lot of effort in organizing, but we weren’t making much progress. We’d call a meeting, 20 people would say they’d come, and only five would show up.”

The involvement of United Steelworkers breathed new life into the movement, Huma said, and prompted all but a handful of Bruin football players to join the coalition in the weeks leading up to the Sun Bowl.

Huma and former UCLA offensive lineman Josh Webb met with Coach Bob Toledo on Tuesday and outlined their plan, which pushes for full health-care coverage during off-season and voluntary workouts; an increase in the NCAA’s $10,000 life-insurance coverage; and the creation of an employment program to help those who do not go on to play pro football.

Student-athletes on scholarship at UCLA receive $820 a month for room and board, and cannot earn more than an additional $2,000 during the school year.

“You have to budget things right,” said Micah Webb, Josh’s twin who also played on the Bruin offensive line. “You might have to spend an extra $15 a week on groceries because you’re trying to gain weight to beat out the guy who’s playing in front of you. Nobody’s starving, but it’s not always easy.”

Huma, who suffered a career-ending back injury his junior season, said football players earn their keep and then some.

“We’re definitely aware as student-athletes that we’re very fortunate,” he said. “But we also feel we do earn our education. There’s a big myth about a ‘free ride.’ We feel that’s a misnomer. We have year-round workouts, excruciating workouts. We risk and sustain physical injuries, surgeries. We even risk our lives.

“Also, we bring in millions of dollars in revenue. Those are all ways in which we earn our education. . . . There are definitely some realities the NCAA should be more in touch with and the public should hear firsthand.”

The NCAA has a student-athlete advisory committee that includes two members who sit on the organization’s Management Council, although they are not allowed to vote. The Management Council is composed of 52 representatives from schools around the country--including Betsy Stephenson, an associate athletic director at UCLA.

Stephenson has met with Huma, and the two have spent time talking about the NCAA governance structure and what’s in place to ensure student-athlete input.

“The [Collegiate Athletes Coalition] issues have merits to be considered,” Stephenson said. “It’s a matter of process, and how change is made within the NCAA structure. And whether that’s satisfying to the people involved.”

Huma was careful to say he doesn’t intend to form a union, per se, and has no intention of trying to organize a player strike.

But he’s serious about the movement, as is United Steelworkers. Waters was asked if the union is merely dipping its toes in the issue or wading in knee-deep.

“Hey,” he said. “We’re underwater.”

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL

CLOSE CALL: Ohio State tapped Jim Tressel of nearby Youngstown State to be its new football coach. D12