As of Tuesday afternoon, nobody knows exactly when the 2022 MLB season will start: not Commissioner Rob Manfred, not the head of the Players Association, and not even one MLB owner.
The union and the league haven’t been able to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and the last one expired in December.
Both parties have accused the other of not negotiating in good faith, but so far, the MLB players have been the ones with more willingness to make concessions.
That is not only unfair, but it also unmasks the owners: they just want players to agree on their conditions, and that’s not how bargaining works.
Last week, the league ceased negotiations and asked a federal mediator to intervene in the conflict.
Not surprisingly, players rejected that idea, and urged owners to get back to the table.
The Government Is Willing To Help
What happened last week actually started a players’ movement on social media: lots of them posted similar messages, prompting the owners, who were the ones who started the lockout, to quit asking for external help and continue negotiating.
Owners are really showing their ugly side by locking out players, “forcing” them to negotiate, and then asking for help when they saw the players’ commitment to fighting for their cause.
The government, however, is willing to help.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told the league they were willing to get involved with baseball’s ongoing lockout.
NEW: Labor Secretary Marty Walsh has communicated to MLB a willingness to get involved with baseball’s ongoing lockout, per two people close to the process
This comes after the players union rejected league’s offer of a third-party federal mediator
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) February 7, 2022
This report came out this week, a few days after the players rejected the owners’ proposal of a third party intervening in talks.
For Washington or any third party to help both sides bargain, however, the players’ union would need to agree, and so far, there are no indications they are willing to do so.
Players have said that there was a federal mediator during the 1994 strike, and he didn’t really help matters.
The union seems unlikely to accept MLB’s offer today to have federal mediator try to bridge the large gap. The union offered “no comment” but they recall the mediator didn’t solve things in 1994. MLB is frustrated by 2 years of no’s but the union sees this as PR. @JeffPassan 1st
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 3, 2022
They have made contributions to previous conflicts in other professional leagues, but the Players Association feels their input is not needed in the current negotiations.
The only thing baseball needs is for owners to realize that this is a negotiation, not an exercise in which they can just impose their will and their ways.
Players Deserve Way More Than What Owners Are Offering
It’s true that owners are crucial in the baseball business, but players are the ones who put on the show.
They deserve better compensation, more opportunities to earn life-changing money when their bodies are still young and in top physical shape, and a competitive environment at all times.
Major and minor leaguers need to be taken care of, especially the latter: that’s why the players association needs to get the best possible deal.
In other CBA negotiations, owners have taken the biggest piece of the pie, and it’s time for the situation to change.
Time will tell if the government ever gets its wish to get involved in talks, but so far, the idea doesn’t have much traction in the inner circles of the union.
Sadly, time is against them, as they need the season to start so they can actually earn money.
If there is a time to stand up for what they deserve, it’s now.
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