Seven CFL teams go on strike, and the other two will join them soon

Posted by Mike Florio on May 15, 2022, 2:26 PM EDT
Edmonton Elks v Toronto Argonauts
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The NFL hasn’t seen an in-season work stoppage in 35 years. The CFL is starting one now.

Players from seven CFL teams have been instructed to stay away from the field during training camp after the labor deal between the CFL and its union expired. Via the Ottawa Citizen, talks collapsed on Saturday.

The Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Elks will join in the work stoppage as soon as the Albert labor laws allow it.

Via TSN.ca, the two sides reportedly met for 16 hours on Friday, and then started negotiations again on Saturday. The CFL Players Association rejected the league’s most recent proposal on Saturday afternoon.

The CFLPA is reportedly expected to conduct a town-hall meeting on Sunday, in order to provide more information and direction to membership.

Farhan Lalji of TSN has tweeted that there are three main sticking points, and that the two sides are “not that far apart.”

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12 responses to “Seven CFL teams go on strike, and the other two will join them soon”

  1. CFL has been struggling for a while. The players association is just shooting themselves in the foot. Fans don’t like strikes.

  4. djcologne says:
    May 15, 2022 at 4:06 pm
    Stop the madness….Both CFL fans may never watch again!
    —————————————————————————————-
    Interesting. A small amount of research indicates television ratings are quite strong and 2/3’s of the league gets good attendance. Seems that would be a lot more than 2 fans. Odds are this comment comes from Toronto. The city so desperate for an NFL franchise but has no hope.

  5. The only buffer between servitude and justice is a union! Without a union, each worker is on his own against the vast resources of the employer. Don’t tell me fans don’t want a strike. Fans are irrelevant here. Players with a union deserve justice and fairness and they can only get it by withholding their services if they don’t get a just contract.

  6. Maybe Justin Trudeau will assert his impressive self into the issues.

  7. I just don’t understand why the NFL doesn’t join forces with the CFL such that the CFL can expand and become a profitable “minor league”.

    Yes their are some rule differences but at the end of the day it is football and the same core skillsets apply no matter what the rules are. We keep seeing these start-up leagues try and fail year after year. Why not add 23 of them to the CFL such that each NFL team has one minor league team like MLB does?

  10. Players definitely need group representation, but in the end the Union just becomes another boss you have to be wary of if not watched carefully…..

  11. Winter in Canada is lethal. To be playthis violent collision sport in 20 below zero chill factor – they can have a union.

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