Another day, another day without any developments in the lockout of the NFL officials.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, no negotiations have occurred between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association.
On Tuesday, the NFLRA tried to kick-start the process by publicly calling upon the NFL to compromise on the pension issue by allowing all current officials to retain a defined-benefit pension plan (i.e., the employer bears the investment risk), with all new officials getting a defined-contribution pension plan (i.e., the employee has the investment risk).
It’s a fair argument, but the NFL remains unimpressed, digging in until the union breaks, with 61 or more of them deciding to end the lockout and return to work.
That’s all it takes to end a lockout. Fifty percent of the bargaining unit, plus one, can end this thing. If, as it’s been reported, most of the locked-out officials want to come back to work, 61 or more of them need to get together with a lawyer who knows how to draw up the paperwork and they can end this, instantly.
That’s not taking a side. That’s reality. The NFL is waiting for it to happen, and the NFLRA is trying to hold their guys together long enough for the NFL to realize that the replacements need to be replaced.
The only problem? Even if the NFL knows it, the NFL never will admit it.