The Major League Soccer labor situation look ready to get much worse before it gets better.
The Washington Post is reporting that the MLS players union has voted resoundingly in favor of a strike if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement isn't agreed to before the start of the season, with the vote put at more than 350 in favor of a strike and just two against a strike.
Neither the player's union or MLS have commented on the report yet, but the vote is in line with what players have been saying for some time. It seems pretty inevitable that the union will strike right before the start of the season if the league does not budge in negotiations. Now the question is whether MLS will seriously consider some concessions. If not, we could be headed for a strike, which would be devastating for a league heading into a very important season.
What do you think of this news? Think MLS will start to budge? Still don't believe the player's will strike?
Share your thoughts below.
But what about if the player over-performs? Then the owners say ‘yeah, you might deserve more, but hey, you signed a contract, you have to stick to it.’ You can’t say that the players should have to accept all the risk. Would you really want to sign a contract where you had to stick to it no matter what, but the other person didn’t have to pay attention to it if he didn’t want to?
“Fair”??? “Fair”??? The ignorant rantings of economic illiterates!
You can make all the apples to oranges comparisons you want, the fact remains that MLS owners have lost hundreds of millions of dollars keeping pro soccer in the USA afloat over the past 15 years, and until MLS is profitable there are no “profits” for the players to share in. Considering how unprofitable pro soccer is in the USA, they are lucky to have jobs playing soccer at all.
Go ahead and strike, MLSPU. We all know that the NFLPU put you up to this (and don’t expect them to help you once you have served your purpose to them in killing off single entity – the NFLPU has no sense of gratitude).
If you kill off MLS most of you won’t make this much money playing soccer ever again. Have fun working in Walmart at a real job like the rest of us. You won’t appreciate what you had until it is gone.
So the only position for those with knowledge is to back management 100%?
What a condescending and arrogant statement. You’re buying the owners’ PR hook, line and sinker. And being an a$$.
So as to not seem nearsighted and superficial I will concede that the issues are complex, nonetheless, I…
SUPPORT THE PLAYERS!!!
I meant only to suggest with the ‘end of story’ comment that this is the position of the league. I think that you are right in that it does suggest some level of arrogance on their part.
As for the logic of the arguement, I did not intend it to be terribly nuanced. I can’t fathom signing a contract like that. The players did; you are right. However, it appears they did so thinking that this would be something that could be addressed when the CBA expired. They appear to be working to effect that change in their contracts. As I said in my original post, I support that effort. To me, it is a reasonable demand.
I don’t think that my point about being unemployed is that off the mark. It is true that the players could go play in a lesser league (though the terms of those contracts in terms of salary, etc would be even more unsavory than the MLS contracts), but being a coach, academy instructor, trainer, etc. is not the players’ chosen profession. They want to play soccer, not just be involved in the game.
I think Landy Cakes was one of the two to vote against
Actually some of the MLS owners have been VERY successful in business. For them, the bottom line is if the investment isn’t performing they are not going to pour more money into it.
p.t. barnum, is that you?
All strikes are about money, directly or indirectly.
There is no picket line if the strikers are fired – there’s only trespassers.
ok, since WNBA is so great in your world, how come teams from the WNBA are either relocated or folded every year? Nobody watches the WNBA: even the average female don’t watch a second of it. Their average attendance is below 10,000.
I just hope its not SBI readers.
I don’t understand why MLS can just make some headway and adhere to at least some of the player’s demands. Also, what exactly are the player’s demands that MLS finds so difficult to work with? I know they want the free agent option, and higher salaries. what are the monetary consequences to MLS of giving the player’s the free agency?
I feel that the players need to be realistic with their demands and keep in mind that they are not playing in the NFL where staying afloat as a league is not a worry like it is for the MLS. They must realize that the NASL failed because the monetary aspect was not handled well. MLS main priority should be staying alive. When that is assured, then should come wage increases, etc.
But i’ll ask again, what exactly are the players asking for, and why is the MLS so hesistant to accept?
Worst case scenario: MLS dissolves, players go to lower leagues and overseas, 5-10 years another top level league will start. Although, I’m hoping the MLS works this out and gets on with the season.
Will MLS or any other soccer league be a huge money maker in the US? Probably not, because it would take a large TV contract and lets be honest, with our AD/HD society, getting casual fans to watch 90 minutes of play only interrupted once by a 15 halftime just isn’t going to happen. And in a 2 hour broadcast, advertisers only have about 20 minutes of commercials. (Anyone remember the days of commercials DURING the game?)
Which league capitalizes on this? NFL – 60 minutes of play stretched over 3 hours.
My stance is that their situation is not ideal, but they knew what they were getting into. I don’t think the league is stable enough yet to warrant changes that the owners feel may endanger their investment. I work way too much, and have little to no security, so I can empathize, but I believe the owners have paid (literally) for the right to control the league as they see fit; at least until it is more established.