Newly signed Match Fit USA contributor John Carlton gives an insight into today's news that MLS and the Players Union will bring in a mediator.
In the ongoing, seemingly intractable labor negotiations that have characterized the 2010 MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement, a lot has been written. But now, both sides have agreed to have a mediator step in and broker a possible deal. This article will focus partly on who that mediator is and what we might come to expect before the new season, hopefully, gets underway.
George H. Cohen is the mediator and this is his story. Cohen is an Obama appointee. He was made head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Cohen is credited with “helping shape the progressive, union and worker friendly agenda of the ‘Kennedy board.’” Cohen has also been the co-chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Sports and Entertainment Law. In his capacity as an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School, Cohen has taught courses on the art of Collective Bargaining. You might say Cohen is uniquely qualified to step in as a mediator in the CBA bargaining.
Before going any further into Cohen’s biography, however, it might be instructive to look at Obama’s record on labor unions. First, the obvious: when the government took over General Motors, Obama extracted several key concessions from the Auto Workers Union (AUW). The Wall Street bailouts have severely cut into his popularity and the resulting high unemployment only exacerbates the populist view that our president has been a servant to corporate interests above all else. So what does that mean for the current impasse in Major League Soccer?
A couple of things. It could be safely stated that the corporate entity at issue here, Major League Soccer, has more clout than a fledgling players union that really has zero traction. But by appointing a labor-friendly mediator in George Cohen, there is at least a signal that a players union position balances on the scales of justice. The problem is, and has been from the beginning, that the players are without a voice, without a public bullhorn, and without a tradition of struggle that coal miners of the Mother Jones era worked so hard to achieve. The deck is stacked against the players, pure and simple.
So in steps George Cohen, friend of the union. To the MLS players union, this must look like a godsend. The problem is, the current economic climate makes it highly unlikely that Cohen, even if he has the best interests of the players union at heart, can broker any deal that tilts the scales in the favor of the union. With new stadiums coming online in New York and Philadelphia, important markets, a work stoppage would spell almost certain doom for a still-burgeoning league. Young players hoping to break into professional soccer, with an eye on a European transfer, can’t afford to strike. Unless these players have applications at Dairy Queen as a fallback, there’s just not a whole lot they can do. Play will go forward, with or without the consent of the union.
Granted, Cohen’s reputation as a labor union advocate is completely warranted. He won four of five arguments in front of the Supreme Court, specifically Buffalo Forge vs. USWA. The man is a fighter. Among other things, he has specialized in health and safety issues for laborers. Unfortunately for the MLSPU, these are not issues at stake. The Jenga-style structure of the current incarnation of the league is what’s up for grabs. The league doesn’t want to be libel for anti-trust violations, especially since they have proven they can be prudent and build a successful soccer league in North American through incrementalism. And anyway, when you consider that the National Football League has operated impudently as a walking anti-trust violation through most of its history, it’s easy to make the case (at least under current conditions) that Major League Soccer has every right to make up their own rules, players be damned. It may not be right, but this is America, damnit.
In all, those who are hoping for a speedy resolution to the current labor crisis need not worry. Even with an espoused labor advocate annointed as mediator, the league will mostly get what it wants. The players will get some concessions (as has been reported throughout negotiations), but not everything they desire. That’s just the nature of the game, as they say. For the Steve Ralstons and Dave van den Berghs of the world, one can sympathize. But what about the developmental player? What about the middling careerer, bouncing from team-to-team in a ten year stint? These are not soccer stars. They have no clout. What they have is the bare-breasted lady of justice on their side. Unfortunately, in 2010, we have seen that lady’s drawers stripped, too.
