Here are a few news reports and comments on the labor news of yesterday (see post below).
News from USA Today.
News and some analysis from the Star in Toronto.
*
Here are a few news reports and comments on the labor news of yesterday (see post below).
News from USA Today.
News and some analysis from the Star in Toronto.
Players, I’m sorry to say this but your bluff has been called.
× Flag comment
Sorry, Derek, but what bluff are you seeing? The league refuses to get reasonable, and if it stays in its position, expect a strike when it will hurt the league ownership the most- this fall. Remember, MLBPA didn’t strike during spring training- they struck in August and forced cancellation of a World Series. If the MLS players are forced to strike to get a rational offer out of the league, I expect it will happen after the summer games and friendlies- extra earnings for the players- are past. And more power to them if they have to do so. I’ll be more than glad to walk a line with them.
× Flag comment
The bluff I see is that they threatened strike by Thursday afternoon but won’t. I don’t think there’s a remote chance they will have the stones to strike during the season. Unlike MLB players, these guys aren’t wealthy for the most part. They need their jobs because they cannot play elsewhere.
I’m with you on the terms. I think the league is being unreasonable, but realistically, they won.
BTW, players don’t get extra money for friendlies. The Sounders tried last year but the league stopped them saying it violated league rules.
× Flag comment
JimKJr – good call on the timing, but when you look at it, the similarities end there.
In ’94, the owners hadn’t agreed to work under the current (previous) contract provisions. they unilaterally imposed changes that caused the players to strike. that hasn’t happened here. here’s a quote from the USAToday from 2004 (10 years after). Note the name of the Judge
It took an injunction by U.S. District Judge Sonia Sotomayor on March 31, 1995, to end the strike. She banned management from unilaterally establishing work rules in the absence of a new labor agreement, and within days the players reported to spring training, happy to play under the current labor rules.
My sense is there aren’t many folks involved in MLBPA or otherwise who would say that 94 was the blueprint for success. Strikes hurt everyone because fans have limited sympathy for athletes who make more than them for playing around all day on grass – and the comparison is really hard to make, because at the time, the MLB was by far the best league with the best quality of play.
MLS players will be millionaires as soon as are good enough to pack the stadiums and owners have to pay more to keep them away from the other leagues.
My only advice to them, in the meantime, would be to stop flopping around on the ground and faking injuries … if you want to get paid like the big boys, start playing like a big boy.
× Flag comment
Derek- when did the players threaten a strike? I saw no such threat- so no “bluff” to be called. As for timing- whether it is players, or any other worker, they strike when the timing is best for them. Any strike will be ruinous, but the league seems to think it doesn’t have to bargain in good faith. As for league rules and friendlies- no rules in place, now, without a CBA.
The league has not agreed to work under “current” rules- they’ve just said no lockout- for now. It is a jungle out there without an agreement.
× Flag comment