collective bargaining | The Issue Spotter

February 10, 2018

Labor Strife in Major League Baseball

The word “collusion” has been thrown around fairly frequently over the last few months in Major League Baseball (MLB). It is currently the baseball off-season, meaning that no regular-season games are currently played (and will not be until March). It is also during this time that teams are typically most active in trading and signing players. However, this off-season has been notably quiet with regard to player acquisitions. There are a multitude of players who have played well enough that a team should sign them, yet they remain free agents for reasons that are not entirely clear. While many may look at this and see it as purely an issue with the MLB, there are several legitimate labor issues at play here. The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is the collective bargaining representative for all current MLB players. MLBPA and the 30 MLB clubs have signed numerous collective bargaining agreements (CBA) over the years, including the most recent one, which is in effect until 2021. In 1968, the CBA barred collusion by writing, “Players shall not act in concert with other Players and Clubs shall not act in concert with other Clubs.” More importantly, the current CBA retains that [read more]

November 17, 2017

Taking on the National Football League

On October 15, 2017, several news and media outlets reported that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick would be filing a grievance against the National Football League. Kaepernick, following the requisite procedure, filed his grievance under the National Football League’s Collective Bargaining Agreement alleging collusion amongst the 32 owners of NFL teams. What started out as an individual practicing his right to protest, particularly to shed light on specific social injustices, has escalated rapidly into a national debate centered on players kneeling during the national anthem. As a result of his protest, and in combination with both the immense media coverage and fellow athletes who joined in protest, Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned a year later. In what is undoubtedly a monumental task taking on the NFL, Kaepernick still stands on the verge of making more history if an arbitrator finds the allegations are true. Article XVII(a)(1) of the NFL collective bargaining agreement states that no NFL team or employee “shall enter into any agreement, express or implied, with the NFL or any other club, its employees or agents to restrict or limit individual club decision making as to . . . whether to negotiate or not to negotiate with [read more]

January 15, 2013

Extending Labor Protections to Domestic Workers

Lyndsey Marcelino explores the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, legislation recently vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown in California that would have provided labor protections to domestic workers. [read more]