MLS fires back at criticism regarding CBA talks

MLS Commissioner Don Garber faces an increasingly tense situation as labor negotiations continue. Photo: Howard C. Smith, isiphotos.com

One day after MLS players voiced their frustration over how negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining agreement were going, the league responded on Saturday.

MLS President Mark Abbott said that the players’ assertion that the league had shown little if any inclination to compromise was “about the most ridiculous statement I can think of hearing…Frankly, either [the players] are misinformed, or misrepresenting [the facts]. I don’t know which one it is.”

Abbott stated that the league has made proposals on compensating traded players for out of pocket expense, guaranteed contracts, and unilateral options. Abbott also indicated that the league has offered to increase the amount of money given to players by $60 million, despite the ongoing recession.

But like the players, Abbott refused to get into the specifics of their respective offers, especially with regard to how many contracts would be guaranteed or the number that would contain unilateral options. The same was true for how the $60 million increase would be split between salaries and ancillary benefits.

“Our view has been that the most effective way to negotiate a CBA extension is to do so in the bargaining room, across the table, and not in the media,” said Abbott.

One major sticking point appears to be the players’ quest for free agency when a contract expires. Abbott stated that the international market for players requires the league to allow teams to keep a player’s rights. Allowing clubs to sign their own contracts also looks to be a complete non-starter.

Abbott said, “In a very real sense, players have free agency beyond what’s available in any other [U.S.] league as a result of being able to move internationally, and those teams aren’t subject to our salary budget, so our system helps us to compete effectively against international clubs and leagues for our players. That was a big point behind the way we created our system.”

Abbott also disputed the players’ assertion that the disagreements aren’t related to economics, but more about players’ rights.

“Everything ultimately has an economic cost associated with it,” said Abbott. “If you guarantee a contract, that has an economic cost associated with it. So while it might be framed as a question of rights, ultimately it’s all an economic discussion.”

About the only item where the league and the union appeared to be in agreement was the reluctance to invoke the nuclear option and initiate a work stoppage, although Abbott didn’t rule it out.

“We’re ready to continue bargaining with the players,” said Abbott. “That being said, we’re not going to make changes in the league or commit to spending that would impair the long-term future of the league. That’s something we can’t do. We would never do something that would hurt our long-term future simply to avoid a work stoppage. But we’re hopeful there isn’t going to be one.”

The two sides are set to resume talks on Monday in Washington, D.C., at which point a decision on future meetings and a possible extension of the Feb. 25 deadline will be discussed.