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Free agency remains hot-button issue
After months of contentious negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, the end game is fast approaching for MLS and its players' union. Meetings between the two sides -- aided by the presence of federal mediator George H. Cohen -- are slated to resume Thursday and are expected to last through the weekend. The only question now is whether the first work stoppage in the league's history can be avoided.
Given the current negotiating climate, a strike is a distinct possibility. After weeks that saw players and management exchange barbs, several owners broke their silence this week. Among those was Tim Leiweke, who is chief executive of AEG, operators of the Los Angeles Galaxy. He told the Los Angeles Times that he is "a little amazed at the lack of respect [the players] show for the commitment that we all have made to get the league to where it's at today," adding that the players are "making a huge mistake going around talking about a strike."
But the players remain unbowed. One player representative who asked not to be identified reiterated the union's plan to go on strike just after midnight Tuesday morning if a new CBA cannot be hammered out.
"This is our time when we have to say a strike is going to happen," said the player. "We can't be soft now. Otherwise, [the league] will just walk all over us."
The sticking points are a set of issues that the union has loosely characterized as "player rights." These include more guaranteed contracts, fewer unilateral contract options by the league, and free agency for out-of-contract players.
But with the race to avoid a work stoppage going down to the wire, the union's demands could be evolving somewhat, especially on the hot-button topic of free agency. MLS president Mark Abbott has said in multiple interviews that allowing free agency "is an area where we're not prepared to make a change." MLS spent a considerable amount of money defending a lawsuit that challenged the legality of the league's single-entity structure, and after prevailing in court it is loath to allow any change that might give the appearance that the league operates as 16 separate franchises as opposed to one business.
For weeks, such talk didn't deter the union, with various members insisting that they would not back down over the issue. But on Wednesday, the aforementioned player representative referred to "flexibility in player movement" instead of free agency. And while the change in terminology could simply be a matter of semantics, the player added, "We know we can't have true free agency within single entity."
Another issue that has emerged for the union is the league's policy of keeping all of the money from transfer fees paid by overseas clubs. Currently, when an MLS player who is under contract is sold to a foreign club, MLS keeps two-thirds of the fee for itself and gives the remaining money to the team that is losing the player. The union would like to see those deals handled in a fashion similar to what is done in Europe, where the player involved keeps 10 percent of any fee.
Yet given that few players are affected by the policy each year, it's difficult to believe that this issue is among those preventing a deal from getting done. Most MLS players who move overseas do so after their contracts have expired, meaning no transfer fee is involved. The vast majority of MLS players will never even make such a move, giving the impression that this is more of a bargaining chip than a showstopper.
Whether these developments signal movement on the part of either side is difficult to tell. Multiple union sources indicated that the league submitted a revised proposal to the MLSPU earlier this week, but according to one union representative the differences were minimal, with the league "conceding very small amounts in certain areas." A league spokesman refused to comment on the most recent proposal made by MLS or the characterization of it by union members.
But both sides did indicate that MLS is paying for more than 20 players to fly to Washington to take part in the upcoming round of negotiations. One league source indicated that previously, the group of player representatives present had varied from session to session, and that this "lack of continuity was not positive."
MLSPU executive board member Pat Onstad will be among those players who will attend the upcoming meetings, and viewed the league's offer as a positive development.
"I think [the league] wants a representative from each club to be there, and frankly, so do we," Onstad said. "I think everybody needs to be there. It's an important decision for both sides."
As for how he thought the upcoming negotiations would play out, Onstad would only say, "I'm confident in the process."
Fans can only hope that confidence translates into a new CBA.
Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPNsoccernet. He is the author of "Soccer's Most Wanted II: The Top 10 Book of More Glorious Goals, Superb Saves and Fantastic Free-Kicks." He also writes for Centerlinesoccer.com and can be reached at eljefe1@yahoo.com.
