Levine: Owners Will Consider Lockout Of MLB Players

Source: chicago.cbslocal.com --- Tuesday, November 22, 2016
By Bruce Levine– (CBS) Major League Baseball ownership will consider a vote on a lockout if a collective bargaining agreement with the players association isn’t in place by Dec. 1. The current collective bargaining agreement ends on that date. On Tuesday, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported that a labor stoppage could go in place as soon as Dec. 2, which dovetailed with what I wrote in the second week of November at the GM meetings in Arizona — that owners would seriously consider a lockout . If a new deal isn’t in place on Dec. 2, the two sides have options. First, the union and ownership can continue under the rules in place from the prior agreement. This usually is a non-starter, due to the fact there’s no urgency to get a new CBA hammered out. Under this type of negotiations, nothing further is assured to be accomplished. Second, the owners can declare an impasse. They then have the right to lock the players out. You may ask what that accomplishes with no games being played in the offseason. No player movement via trade or free-agent signings or contract extensions of any sort would be allowed. Basically, the Baseball industry comes to a halt. Third, the players association has the same right to strike or declare an impasse and walk away from any bargaining. The issues include a universal draft that owners want to install. This would force all countries to participate in an international draft of all players each year. As it i ...

from Baseball http://ift.tt/2f4VQqS