MLS NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release Contact: MLS Communications www.MLSnet.com (212) 450-1225 MLS RECOGNIZES NEW PLAYERS UNION NEW YORK (Thursday, April 17, 2003) - The Major League Soccer Players Union (MLSPU) has been designated by the MLS players to serve as their exclusive bargaining representative. Following this designation, the MLSPU sent the League a request for recognition. In accordance with the National Labor Relations Act, Major League Soccer has recognized the MLSPU. The League anticipates that the collective bargaining process will begin in the near future. "MLS looks forward to developing a productive relationship with its players through collective bargaining," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "As we have stated since the League's inception, we want to partner with the players to continue developing professional soccer in the United States." Major League Soccer's eighth season continues with four games on Saturday. The defending Eastern Conference champion New England Revolution host the Columbus Crew at Gillette Stadium in the latest installment of 2003 MLS Soccer Saturday beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Other action this weekend includes the Chicago Fire at D.C. United from RFK Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET in Fox Sports World's second MLS Game of the Week, while the MetroStars host the MLS Cup holders Los Angeles Galaxy, also at 7:30 p.m. ET from Giants Stadium. Week three of the 2003 season concludes with HDNet's presentation of the Kansas City Wizards at Spartan Stadium against the San Jose Earthquakes at 10:00 p.m. ET. The Colorado Rapids and Dallas Burn are idle this week.
I guess this officially ends the lawsuit. I hope the players don't have the same union representation as the WNBA.
Well, it's good that the players now have an official union and that MLS apparently is willing to deal with it. However, history shows us that the presence of a union almost always results in increased costs for management, and I'm not sure how well that's going to fly.
It probably also means that the salary cap may increase more than the meager points it has increased up til now. One gets the sense that management has been waiting for a union to show up before giving any consideration to real wage increases.
I get the sense that they've been waiting for money to show up before giving any consideration to real wage increases.
I'll rephrase. Altruism aside, MLS management has no incentive to give tangible raises to the players outside of a collective bargaining agreement, i.e. no union, no bargaining power.
This caught me by surprise. One can only hope that the players can see MLS finally picking up some monentum and that grandstanding and ultimatums are not going to help anyone. All you have to do is look at Southlake, Naperville, the 1/2 closed Gillette Stadium etc... to realize that MLS is still in critical condition. Is there a condition worse than critical?
A company that operates in the red and that is being sued by it's employees, is not a company that freely throws out money to the said employees.
Not so much a bravo to the league, more a "dammit, what took you stupid people so long" to the players. As implied in MLS's statement, once the employees have nominated a representative (formed a union), the employer has an obligation to recognize and periodically negotiate with them under the FLSA. It's not like the league has an option in this.
should be a good thing, just whenever i think players union i think of the MLB strike, NBA holdout, and now the WNBA situation, hopefully we won't see that anytime soon
Hopefully, SportsCenter, Jim Rome and the other soccer-haters won't diss the MLSPU acronym, as in "MLS? P.U.!"
exactly the thing I thought of. also, on MLSnet.com The Clean Sheet says that the executive board is: Chris Klein, Ben Olsen, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Alexi Lalas. Isn't Landon a little young and not-long-for-MLS to be on the board? evidently not.
also, he doesn't exactly strike me as a rebel given that MLS has bent over backwards to get him into the league. interesting. i would think agoos would be a good choice as an executive board member, but i guess not.
Well, what does that say about Ben Olsen? At this point, 'Lexi's about as grey bearded as they come for this league, with the exception of some of the foreign players who retired recently.
I look forward to seeing who is on the player union's payroll. Hopefully we'll begin to see a bit of free agency. say players with five years of service who are out of contract.
I sure hope the players enjoy having a good portion of their salaries taken so a guy who says he represents the Union can send his kids to Harvard.
According to SoccerAmerica, the players will be represented by the DC law firm Sherman, Dunn, Cohen, Leifer & Yellig. The new union has no affiliation with the NFLPA. http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562133130
Let's not turn this into a debate over union corruption. There are some very good reasons for unions, and some very bad reasons. unions have done amazing things for the health and quality of life of most workers in the US - and they have also shown the same propensity towards corruption and self-serving that all unchecked human endeavors seem to. I for one, think the player's union is a good thing.
This is correct, although it is actually the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that provides the players with the unarguable right to organize. The FLSA addresses the payment of wages, e.g., overtime. I've always wondered why the players pursued the challenge to single entity rather than just forming a union and demanding collective bargaining. Probably a recognition that, even in a collective bargaining context, they seriously lack leverage given the dubious economic viability of professional soccer in this country and the fact that most of the players have not professional option other than playing in the US. Presumably they figured their best bet was to pit the owners (all three of them) against one another in order to increase competition for players. When that effort failed, the collective bargaining approach is the only remaining choice. I would guess they will try to bargain for some sort of limited free-agency and/or cap exemptions for veterans, providing them with a little more control over where they play (which, of course, some players already have. Witness Ernie Stewart.)
i know the WNBA player's union is on the verge of having their season cancelled. let's hope it never gets to that here. good luck to the players.