As of Monday, only 100 days remained until the expiration of the current labor agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
And while the NFLPA has lined up more than enough votes to decertify the union and necessarily block a lockout come March 2011, the NFLPA continues to profess that a lockout is coming.
The NFLPA website now includes a feature called “The NFL’s Lockout Checklist,” which chronicles all of the various things that the union believes constitute proof of a looming lockout.
The union also has sent new letters from president Kevin Mawae to politicians in every NFL market, warning them of the economic losses that will result if the 2011 season isn’t played, according to Sarah Talalay of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
We’d prefer that both sides focus their efforts on getting a deal done, especially since the NFLPA’s decertification plan necessarily would block a lockout.
Here’s the reality, as best we currently can discern it. Though decertification would indeed prevent a lockout, the union may be concerned that the rules imposed by the NFL after decertification of the union could survive an antitrust lawsuit -- and would be worse than the best deal the union could negotiate at the bargaining table.
But instead of negotiating the best deal at the bargaining table, the union seems to be hoping to use political and public pressure to leverage an even better deal.
These efforts would be far more impressive if the two sides were actually meeting and/or if the union’s letters weren’t focused on a lockout that the union has already taken steps to prevent, but on allegations that the union is ready, willing, and able to enter into intensive, round-the-clock negotiations and that the NFL doesn’t want to meet.
That’s the biggest flaw in the union’s strategy, as we see it. Every tactic rings hollow unless the NFLPA’s negotiating team is parked in the lobby of 280 Park Avenue, demanding that the league get serious about sitting down and working out a deal.
To date, the only side that has complained about the lack of urgency is the side that’s supposedly planning to eventually lock out the players. Until the NFLPA demonstrates urgency toward working out a deal, many will perceive these efforts as posturing.