Hi there!


Maybe you've heard that Major League Soccer is currently embroiled in labor negotiations, and you thought that maybe you'd like to learn more about them! Or maybe you already think you know the deal and just can't get enough! Either way, you've come to the right place. By reading this comprehensive guide to the MLS CBA, presented in multiple parts, you'll either be brought up to speed, find your own position after taking it all in, or discover that what you think you know is complete and utter nonsense.


Sounds like fun, right? Okay then, let's get started with part one, the basics!


Below, and in subsequent "A Super Fun Guide" posts, you will find explanations, resources, commentary, and recaps of everything that's involved with the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations. The work of some very smart people is included here (usually via link), and, surprise surprise, they don't always agree. How can that be, you ask? Hell if I know! But let's try to figure it out anyway!


First, a few important facts:


The Nitty Gritty

The current CBA, the first in League history, was signed December 1, 2004 and expires on January 31, 2010.


Terms the Players were fine with back in 2003, they aren't not so okay with now (meaning they hate them with every fiber of their beings).


The League would like to stick with the status quo, thank you very much.


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On to a brief introduction of our two combatants, groups that collectively hold the future of Major League Soccer in their hands (scary, I know):


The Players

The MLS players are represented by the MLS Players Union (duh!), to which all current MLS players belong. The Union is run by Executive Director Bob Foose, and has a five-member executive board made up of active players. Each team has a Player Representative who is elected by secret ballot, who in turn elect the aforementioned executive board. The Union was created in 2003, and negotiated the League's first, and soon to expire, Collective Bargaining Agreement.


The League

The League, also known as "MLS", "the owners", "management", and "the guys with the money", is represented by the MLS Board of Governors (which essentially means the owners) and is led by Commissioner Don Garber. The League is responsible (generally, some of them are newbies) for the return of top-flight professional soccer to the United States and Canada after dumping a bunch of cash on the sport at a time when few thought a league could survive. Fifteen years later, after some growing pains, significant losses, and the legal vindication of the single-entity model (more on that later), MLS is doing just fine.

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Of course, it wouldn't be a negotiation if there weren't things each side wanted out of the new deal, right? So let's take a look at the list of demands:


What the Players Want

• Guaranteed Contracts*


• Free Agency


• Quality of Life Concessions (moving cost reimbursement, higher per diems, blah, blah, blah)


• More Money**

* It's not quite clear if the Players want contracts guaranteed from season to season, or if they want the entirety of multi-year agreements guaranteed in their entirety at the execution of the contract, but signs point the the latter.

** How much money isn't really clear either; of all their demands, actual salary increases at the bottom of the scale seem to be the least important, and there's a sense the League is cool with bumping them up anyway.


What the League Wants

• All The Stuff (i.e., control) They Have Now*

*Plus interest. Kidding.

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Now, all of this seems pretty straightforward, right? The Players want some stuff, the League doesn't want to give it to them, and like with any negotiation, they'll eventually have to meet in the middle.


Generally, these things go something like this:


Party A: "We want X, Y and Z."

Party B: "No."

Party A: "Okay, what if we drop X and you just give us Y and Z?"

Party B: "Maybe, but we still don't like it."

Party A: "Well screw you then, we're striking."

Party B: "Okay, okay. We'll give you Z, but that's it."

Party A: "Okay, but now we want Y, too. And X as well."

Party B: "Are you mad!? That's it, we're locking you out!"

Party A: "Wow, you're testy. How about Z and part of Y then?"

Party B: "Deal."

Party A: "Cool. Let's go get drunk."


Unfortunately, things don't seem to have progressed to the point where anything is being offered by either side, and if anyone is getting drunk, it's for all the wrong reasons (apologies to any teetotalers reading this; yes, we know you don't have to drink to have fun-no guilt trips, ok?). The Players want their demands, the League is holding firm, and everyone is just a bit frightened that we're headed for...LABOR ARMAGEDDON™!

DUN DUN DUN!


Frustration with these stubborn people has writers and bloggers from all over weighing in on the situation. Some of them say "VIVA LA REVOLUTION!" and back the players one hundred percent, like that guy Ginge. Others aren't so sure now is the time for the Players to rise up, like one guy from Toronto.

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It's much more complicated than just that of course. The Players' demands carry with them annoying stuff like (but possibly not limited to) long-reaching budgetary effects, FIFA compliance questions, philosophical incompatibility with the single-entity penny-pinching nature of MLS, and a resulting (should the demands be met) massive reconstitution (depending on who you ask...yes, more uncertainty) of the basic way the League does business.


But I'm guessing that your head is probably swimming right now, and I really don't blame you; this is a lot of stuff to process! Since we've covered the basics, let's take a break and reconvene later for Part II, where we'll take a more in-depth look at each of the Players' demands. They want some pretty major changes, and we'll need the help of writers from all over to determine what exactly they might mean for the League.


Until next time...


Bye then!