After the dramatic “Countdown to 5pm” yesterday, here’s a list of what we know:
Not much.
However, looking at the statements released from both sides yesterday, a few things stand out. I’ve translated both statements below. First up, the Major League Soccer Players Union (MLSPU):
MLSPU Point 1: The CBA will not be extended past Feb. 25.
No translation needed. The players can continue to work under their existing contracts unless one side decides that there will be a strike or lockout. The old CBA prohibited strikes and lockouts. As of midnight, that section no longer applies.
MLSPU Point 2: They hope negotiations will resume at some point.
Negotiations will resume at some point.
MLSPU Point 3: There has not been enough progress made in negotiations to date to warrant an extension of the old agreement.
The old agreement is just not good enough for the players. By saying that the old contract is expired and will not be renewed, we know that something new will come out of this process. What that is exactly remains to be seen.
MLSPU Point 4: Players are being advised to keep working for the time being without a CBA.
Players will simply keep showing up under their player contracts until they are instructed not to show up for work. They can decide to walk at any point. That could be today, the day before the season starts, or even mid-season if a new CBA has not been agreed upon. That the players have been instructed to keep working without a CBA simply means that the players did not strike at 12:00AM on February 26.
MLSPU Point 5: All options are being considered.
Means nothing. It’s like saying three out of five options are being considered. The problem is that no one knows what options are on the table.
MLSPU Point 6: They are committed to real changes regarding how MLS players are treated.
The players are really trying to do everything in their power to shake things up. The wording here suggests what many of us already know – that players do not feel that they are treated fairly. The last CBA was in effect over a period of roughly five years. This is their opportunity to address how players will be treated for arguably the next five years. That is significant.
Generally, if you’re wondering why the players did not strike yesterday, well, so is everyone else. There are several possibilities, but one rationale stands out. As the season gets closer, a strike and subsequent work stoppage do slightly more damage to the league from a public relations standpoint. The players have effectively just turned up the temperature on management by holding on to the strike card and continuing to work as if the season will continue.
But that’s only part of the picture. Let’s look at what MLS had to say. I’ve provided a few thoughts on each of their points.
MLS Point 1: Over the course of the past year, MLS has been negotiating with MLSPU on a new CBA.
Both sides had to make the decision to extend the old CBA. MLS is clearly stating that it was MLSPU that decided not to agree to a further extension. The league is also saying in no uncertain terms that they have been working to resolve this issue for some time. They do not want to be seen as the bad guy, even though that will always be an uphill battle in a labor/management dispute.
MLS Point 2: The league will not lock out the players.
If there is a stoppage, the league is saying that it will be the players who will cause it, not MLS. This may technically be accurate because presumably the players will be the ones deciding not to show up to work. But the reason they would do so is because they believe the terms they are being offered are inadequate. There’s certainly an argument that a stoppage would be as much the league’s fault as the players’ fault. But as I’ve said before, without knowing the details, allocating fault is difficult at this point.
MLS Point 3: The league is prepared to start the season under the old CBA while they continue bargaining to reach an agreement on a new CBA.
MLS does not want a stoppage. They know that nothing good will come from a work stoppage at this point. In theory, the sides could continue negotiating forever. But if the sides can’t ultimately agree on terms, don’t expect the players to simply keep playing through the season. No one should be shocked that the league is prepared to start the season under the old CBA. What would have been shocking is if the league said, “The old agreement is just not good enough. We should definitely hold off on the new season until we can get these guys a better deal.” That would be shocking.
MLS Point 4: At some level MLS has addressed issues raised by the players regarding economics, guaranteed contracts, options, and the ability of a player to move to another MLS club if he is released by his current club.
This tells us a bit about what we already thought we knew, namely that money, contracts, options, and player movement are all issues on the table. What we don’t know, however, is basically everything that is being negotiated. This deal is in the details, which brings us to the final point from the MLS release …
MLS Point 5: MLS has provided detailed and substantial changes to the past CBA. The league’s proposals will result in significant increased costs and will provide substantially provide more rights to the players.
These final two sentences are interesting. They say, “Hey, we addressed your needs in proposals that will raise our costs, but give you substantially more rights!” The league is basically saying that they have made significant concessions. Again, they are insinuating that a deal not getting done is not down to them, but down to the players given that they have agreed to incur significant increased costs and provide substantially more rights to players. It’s a well-framed public position for the league, but it really doesn’t mean much because we don’t know what rights were offered. This fight isn’t about generic rights to players. It is about specific terms, and until we know what is specifically being negotiated, we can’t say whether the proposals are reasonable or not.
Final Thoughts
The Catch-22 here is that the players need MLS to succeed and to continue growing. One can hope that striking would just be a minor setback, but in reality MLS is a young league and we don’t quite know how a strike would impact the league’s viability going forward.
The players’ leverage is simply that they can adversely impact the league’s momentum whenever they desire. There are times over the next few months when a strategic strike may be more devastating than others. But then what? Can the players even afford to strike for any significant amount of time? At the end of the day, this is the league’s leverage. They know many of the players need MLS. Several players would have lucrative options in other leagues, but many players would simply be left in tough situations. If there is a strike, once that card is played, the question becomes which side can afford to hold out longer. My guess is that it’s the owners. That’s just the current reality in MLS. If this somehow was happening in the English Premier League, almost every player on a roster could find a home elsewhere making a good wage, even if that was in lower divisions. Whether MLS players have other options remains to be seen.
I know I’ll be paying less attention to statements from both sides in the coming days (and hopefully not weeks or months). At this point, we get almost as much as there is to get. Until the details come out, public statements released by both sides will simply be posturing, which is fine, but fans should now just get back to watching Celebrity Fit Club until something notable happens. Until then … nothing to see here.
