MLS Players Will Strike If Necessary

The labor dispute between Major League Soccer and the Major League Soccer Players Union has now officially approached the precipice. We could be looking at a player strike. I can’t claim to know the ins and outs of this dispute, but I can sum up my limited knowledge for you in three bullet points:

• MLS is a single entity. With the exception of certain Designated Players like Beckahm, all MLS players are contracted to the league and not to their clubs. So MLS (employer) and the MLS Players Union (employees) periodically agree on terms, known as the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
• The most recent CBA expired on January 31st, 2010. Negotiations for a new agreement have so far failed, mostly because the MLS Players Union want certain rights that other professional footballers enjoy, like free agency and guaranteed contracts.
• MLS is not keen to grant these rights, because it threatens their single entity business model. Hence the dead end.

The MLS 2010 season is supposed to begin Thursday, March 25th. Check your calendars. That’s less than two weeks away, and we still don’t have a new CBA. It had been suggested that the MLS 2010 season could begin under the terms of the old CBA while negotiations continue. However, the MLS Players Union has apparently voted to go on strike (and by an overwhelming 383-2 majority) if there’s no new CBA in place by 12:01am Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 23rd.

I have a lot of sympathy for the MLS Players Union. Their working conditions are almost comically restrictive and they’re right to be demanding better. To have your “contract” potentially cancelled at any point must be terrifying, and from my perspective as a fan the league ownership of players is part hampers MLS teams ability to determine their own future. It’s a weird system.

I can see the MLS point of view too though. Single entity might be weird, but it’s also the most stable business model by far. The league’s control over spending, players wages and other aspects is arguably the reason MLS is still in business while the more free market NASL folded. Fans and players may dislike the setup, but if given the choice between a) MLS’ single entity setup and b) no soccer at all, then I’d choose a).

If the players go on strike then we’ll be looking at option b) no soccer at all. At least for a while. In a World Cup year, that quadrennial opportunity to spread the beautiful game in the US, then a league on strike is about the least helpful league there could be.

Obviously the best result would be some sort of compromise. Obviously. It’s just not 100% clear what that compromise should be. Fingers crossed someone works it out before March 23rd arrives.

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Category: MLS