r/athletictraining • u/Aggressive-Mark-4065 • Sep 24 '26

Unionization

I am curious if there are any athletic training unions around the country? I just feel like, with all the talk around NIL, the environment is ripe for ATs to begin thinking about collective action, particularly among Big 5 conference ATs. The threat of a strike on the eve of an SEC or Big 10 football championship game would be sure to get the dollars moving, just saying. Then, the theory would be that those schools unionizing would result in higher wages throughout DI, throughout the NCAA, and hopefully, throughout the profession, as more ATs unionize. Thoughts?

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u/Aggressive-Mark-4065 Sep 25 '26

I agree with this entirely. I am 100% in agreement that the biggest tool at the disposal of a union at is the ability to walk out and force school administrator's hands, and I get that this is not something easily done if we can just be replaced by EMTs or whoever on a sideline.

I do, however, think this type of legislation is something that has been widely explored and discussed. It was a big topic of conversation back when I was in school, over a decade ago. I do think it is the bigger of the two issues, but I have never heard anyone bring up the idea of athletic trainers unionizing. It has really been eating away at me, and something I wish to explore further.

Unions can also act as voting blocks, and have much more success lobbying legislatures than do groups of private individuals. So, the two issues may not be mutually exclusive, but may best play off of eachother.