Hardball: NBA Lockout Heats Up
Posted on 05. Aug, 2011 by JC Azevedo in Blogs, In the Paint
David Stern and Billy Hunter play hardball with latest accusations
Those who have been following the situation with the NBA recently know that there are deeper issues to the lockout than just parties arguing over their share of the treasure. Unlike the NFL, the NBA is, according to the owners, struggling with their current business model. Many of the owners see this CBA negotiation as a chance to make some deep, long term changes at the expense of some short term losses, similarly to how the NHL did a few years ago by losing an entire season of play. But that doesn’t matter much to fans who would rather spend their time rooting for their favorite players and managing their fantasy teams instead of paying attention to labor negotiations between millionaires. So, here’s a rundown of the recent events regarding the lockout.
As with many negotiations at an impasse, parties who aren’t getting what they want attempt to gain leverage over the other party. In this case, time is the weapon of the NBA. The longer they can hold out, the more pressure comes onto the players who will stop seeing paychecks, and who will have to find other sources of income. Many players are participating in foreign professional leagues, but those paychecks for the majority of players are not comparable to their NBA salaries, and there’s no question they would rather get this over with and return to the NBA. So, the NBA’s strategy is play this out, biding the time until one side caves, coping with the chess moves of the NBPA and making moves of their own, hoping the long term plan ends in their favor.
One chess move the NBA Players’ Association has is the threat of decertification of the union, allowing for anti-trust lawsuits against the league for not allowing their players to continue their chosen profession. NBA agents, who would rather not wait this out, have expressed to union president Billy Hunter that they will push for decertification in order to resolve the lockout sooner instead of playing the waiting game. The drawback is that once the union is decertified, all existing agreements with the union, including contracts, might go out the window. This move, while opening up avenues to battle this issue out in the courts and have a large impact on which side gains leverage during this lockout, is a drastic one that Hunter would rather save until the union has tried alternatives.
One such alternative by the NBPA has already started, as the union filed an unfair labor practice complaint to the National Labor Relations Board back in May, but they amended their initial complaint in July. This legal gambit by the union could have a big impact on the next steps taken by both parties, as pointed out by attorney and former agent Gregg Clifton:
The [Norris-LaGuardia Act] does not apply in labor disputes brought before the NLRB, meaning the NBPA’s current strategy could be its quickest route to an injunction lifting the lockout. If the NBPA is successful in getting the NLRB to issue a complaint against the NBA, the board could follow up by asking a federal judge to reinstate terms of the previous agreement — thus forcing the two sides to engage in serious bargaining. This is how the baseball strike ended in 1995.
To this extent, the NLRB also provides the players with as close to a home-court advantage as they could hope for, given that the 8th Circuit precedent stands in the way of having the lockout lifted through an antitrust action. The NLRB also is decidedly labor-friendly, especially in its current makeup of four Democrat appointees and one Republican.
Decertification of the union is a drastic step, and it seems the union has chosen to exhaust their efforts with the National Labor Relations Board before taking more drastic action.
In response to the union’s claims of the NBA failing to negotiate in good faith, the NBA itself responded with two legal actions: first is a complaint of their own with the National Labor Relations Board against the NBPA, as well as a lawsuit against the union in the federal district court of New York. They are claiming that part of the union’s actions, including threats to decertify, were part of a strategy, and thus were never negotiating in good faith.
David Stern comments: “There doesn’t seem to be a seriousness of purpose to the players and we keep reading about they’re considering decertification, and the agents are meeting with Billy to talk about decertification, Derek was quoted as saying it’s an option on the table.”
The NBA also is attempting to block decertification of the union by federal ruling, and threatening to void existing contracts if it doesn’t. They are clearly attempting to not only counter the union’s actions, but to eliminate their strategic moves by preventing them entirely, or creating costly ramifications. The union’s response has been clear: they are seeking dismissal of the NBA’s claims in court, as they say the NBA’s claims have no merit.
Make no mistake NBA fans: this lockout is nothing like the NFL. This isn’t about dividing up the pot of gold, this is about one side wanting serious restructuring of the economic model of the league, and the other party seeing no need for it, with both parties willing to go the distance and take drastic action to get what they want. It’s going to be a long and dirty battle, most likely resulting in the loss of at least part of, if not all, next season. The chess game continues, and the courts will have a role in leverage, so check back as we at hoops4life will give updates as the situation develops.
For a more detailed account of the lockout and its origins, including court documents, check out sbnation.com
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