https://www.refereeassociation.net/psra-press-release-re-unfair-labor-practices-by-pro/ December 17, 2018 For immediate release: Last week, the Professional Soccer Referees Association (“PSRA”) members covered by the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) with the Professional Referee Organization (“PRO”) voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike authorization. This vote comes on the heels of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) ruling in favor of PSRA regarding a recent Unfair Labor Practice charge, and provides the PSRA Executive Board with the authority to call a strike to protest PRO’s unfair labor practices and unlawful bargaining tactics. PSRA’s existing CBA with PRO expires on January 15, 2019. PSRA commenced bargaining toward a new CBA in March of 2018 – starting early in order to provide the parties sufficient opportunity to reach a new and fair agreement before the existing CBA expires. To the extreme frustration of PSRA members, PRO significantly delayed the negotiations after they commenced, cancelled a multitude of scheduled bargaining dates, and refused to counter PSRA’s proposals in a timely fashion. PSRA expected nothing less than “fair play” from a refereeing company. Unfortunately, this did not occur. As a result, in September PSRA filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with Region 2 of the NLRB in response to PRO’s unlawful actions during negotiations toward a new CBA. PSRA’s charges, which alleged PRO “unlawfully delayed and canceled bargaining sessions,” were found to have merit by the NLRB. PSRA takes this matter very seriously and has no desire to cause unnecessary disruption to the negotiating process. However, the solidarity of the members is clear. We will not stand for the unlawful bargaining tactics by PRO and its main stakeholders – Major League Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation. For further clarity, PRO’s General Manager, Howard Webb, should not shoulder all the blame for PRO’s delay tactics. It is PSRA’s opinion that Mr. Webb, despite being PRO General Manager, does not control these negotiations on behalf of PRO. If he did, PSRA is confident the parties may have already reached agreement. PSRA is of the opinion that the PRO Board, which has yet to appear at the bargaining table, and PRO’s attorneys are controlling negotiations on behalf of PRO. PSRA wants nothing more than a fair and lawful playing field for collective bargaining so we may reach a timely agreement, the fruits of which both PSRA and our partner, PRO, can hopefully enjoy well in advance of the 2019 season. “Fair Play!” The Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) is the certified labor union representing Officials employed by PRO, and is an independent association of referees licensed to officiate the game of soccer by the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) or the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). PSRA officials referee matches in Major League Soccer (MLS) and other professional soccer leagues within Canada and the United States. www.refereeassociation.net Summary: a. PSRA wants nothing more than a fair and lawful playing field for collective bargaining so we may reach a timely agreement. b. In an effort to complete a new CBA in a timely manner, PSRA commenced bargaining in March of 2018. c. In September, PSRA filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with Region 2 of the NLRB in response to PRO’s unlawful actions during negotiations toward a new CBA. d. The NLRB recently ruled in favor of PSRA regarding an Unfair Labor Practice charge. e. Officials overwhelmingly passed a strike vote authorization that provides the PSRA Executive Board with the authority to call a strike to protest PRO’s unfair labor practices and unlawful bargaining tactics.
They'll be another lockout/strike again. The interesting thing is that PSRA is so much bigger now as an organization that PRO will have a much harder time finding active referees to cover the matches. Pretty much an you active referee that does USL is in PSRA now. They'll have to look for more foreign referees and I'm guessing more retired MLS officials. But there are a quite a bit of ex MLS referees that are PSRA member.
Personally, I hope that the pro guys get a deal commensurate with how difficult it is to be one of them. Given the growth and financial health of the league, I think an annualized $250k for mls, $150k for USL level, working no more than 1 game per week.
You do realize that is higher than the league average when it comes to MLS player salaries? You do also realize that MLS referees would then be paid higher than La Liga, Serie A, or EPL referees? Those leagues generate significantly more revenue than MLS. Also, 150K for USL is fantasy land. I don't think there is a single player in USL that makes that much. USL teams make roster decisions on if players are married or not so they don't have to pay insurance for dependents.
I think the biggest problem would be finding VARs. If there would be a lookout I don't know how PRO could get crews with properly trained VARs on every game.
A lot of the people in the PRO development group are VAR trained. I’m not sure if they have PRO contracts or if they belong to the PSRA.
Working no more than one game a week? Mark Geiger has done less than 60 MLS matches in the last 4 YEARS! (And yes, I know why!) But, MLS officials as a whole do way fewer matches than other officials. Michael Oliver did 43 matches last year. Geiger, all competitions, did 21. Alan Kelly did 25. Lee Mason did a game on A Wednesday and another on Saturday.
I'm not 100% sure, but I would think that all the PRO development group officials are already PSRA members.
Even if they are not members of PSRA, if they take the line crossing position, would what would be the consequences latter? If they move up, they will have to work with the referees they went against
Where does the money come from? PRO can't agree to pay the referees more than it can get the leagues to pay for the referees. So of course MLS is going to have a major seat at the table. (And the investment in VAR--both as to infrastructure and extra refs needed each game--doesn't help in driving MLS to want to pay more per game for the R/AR/4O team.) And I wish teachers, firemen, and policemen got salaries more commensurate with how difficult it is to be one of them. And if wishes were horses, beggars could ride. NBA referees start at $150K (which can apparently grow to $550K, which I presume includes playoffs). NFL referees average less than $200K. MLB umpires start at $150K and average $235K. (Minor league umpires get paid very little.) Expecting MLS refs to get paid $250K is entirely unrealistic.
Well ya, but as I said I just thought it was interesting they chose to publicize that aspect of it. Doesn't FIFA have policies regarding how much a league can interfere with referees and their management? Based on obvious red cards being overturned that shouldn't ever be, it's obvious to us ref nerds that we know the "PRO rep" on that panel is nothing but a lackey so this isn't a shocker. No, but they could join if they wanted. You think Alan Kelley is in PSRA? He's a scab from the last round. Just because you're in PRO doesn't mean you're in PSRA. Consequences from who? There are multiple scabs still working the league from the last strike. One of them has been ref of the year multiple times and just did MLS Cup! Ostracized by your peers to varying degrees? Sure. Consequences? Hardly.
Well, I did say “hope.” But I fail to see why comparisons, while pertinent, are relevant. Player salaries? There are hundreds and hundreds of them. And if they’re not happy with the pay, there are hundreds more from central/South America who are used to less. Teachers, firemen, police. Yes they are undervalued, grossly, BUT the bar to become one is modest, and hence they are not in short supply. How steep is the pyramid for the mls referee vs the legions that call themselves referees? Who other than the insane or independently wealthy sacrifice a decade to get to a “career” of ten or fifteen years of modest pay, that can end abruptly with injury or a few bad performances, or social media gaffe. But the bottom line is that how many can truly deliver the level of expertise? Damn few. And they should get paid to do it. As we have seen, other major league sports refs pay much more. AND they have much shorter seasons, during which time they can do other things. So, my hope for their salaries may be hopeless, but certainly not unreasonable.
This is what I have to tell people a lot. There's so much to sacrifice and so much time and money to sink into it, if you're even lucky enough to get the looks. I was talking to a couple friends, one who spent a number of years in the league, and he told a young referee who was with us "I don't know if I would encourage anyone to try and try for national right now. There's no way to know exactly what they're looking for, and if you're lucky enough to get there, who knows if how long you get to stay." I know of the stories of referees getting there in 4-6 years, and that's great. But on average, do you want to encourage people to travel, sacrifice and grind for a decade so "Maybe" they get that call?
I was referring to your observation that top American referees are working fewer domestic games than their English counterparts.
$250k is so beyond unreasonable it's asinine. You're also failing to understand there are a million things in the CBA they can argue over that have nothing to do with pay that are also important to the referees. Also, comparing pay to the other major leagues isn't comparing apples to apples. MLS in game attendance may be catching up and even beating a couple of those leagues now but that's not where $$$$$ comes from. TV contracts are everything, and MLS is still in the cellar compared to all of the other leagues. That affects all pay: front office, players, staff, and referees. I don't think you realize that MLS as a league is still not turning a profit. Only when the next TV contracts get signed will they finally maybe kinda probably be profitable as a whole after almost 30 years. If you study the other sports you'll realize MLS is actually pretty damn successful in how quickly they've built this brand to be what it is. No one gets to that point without knowing those risks up front and choosing to go forward. To each his own.
This is certainly true. I do wonder, however, how much higher pay might affect the talent pool. On some level, I'd imagine there are lots with potential who drop out because the risk doesn't match reward.