Time for Tough Talk

MLB and the MLBPA are negotiating a new labor agreement, and the players are not doing well. Therefore, they are taking their case to the press:

The owners will consider voting to lock out the players if the two sides cannot reach a new collective-bargaining agreement by the time the current deal expires on Dec. 1, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions.

A lockout would put baseball’s business on hold, delaying free-agent signings and trades until a new agreement is reached. The winter meetings, a joint venture between the majors and minors scheduled to take place from Dec. 4 to 8 near Washington D.C., might still transpire, but without the usual frenzy of major-league activity.

The possibility of a lockout stems from the owners’ frustration with the players’ union over the slow pace of the discussions, sources said. The two sides still have more than a week to complete a deal, but a number of significant issues remain unresolved.

…

Two veteran players with knowledge of the talks, however, said that the players will fight for what they believe are the core beliefs and foundation of the union.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity, due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.

“We are not afraid of a lockout,” one of those players said.

Remember, this is posturing. There is no reason to reach any kind of agreement until the last minute, because that is when you get the best deal. Every CBA is seems that people start worrying when the deadline gets close that labor trouble is on the way. What’s true is that everyone is doing rather well under the current system, and both sides would be foolish to trade that away. My guess is that thinks will be dark until an hour before the deadline, and then we’ll about amazing progress, and at worst a short extension of the negotiating period to get it done.

I personally think the the MLBPA is thinking too small lately. They want free agent compensation abolished, so MLB counters with trading that for an international draft. The two are not really equal, however, and there’s really no way of trading down from no compensation to some compensation. The MLBPA should have asked for no compensation, and two years until free agency, eliminating the need for arbitration in those cases. Then they could possibly get the international draft off the table, and maybe get rid of compensation and free agency after five years, which would be a big improvement.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2g14EuP