national league soccer schedule
MLS Tickets – League Avoids Strike, Signs CBA
The regular season of Major League Soccer opened on March 25, but it almost wasn’t to be. Like other professional sports before it, the MLS first had to work out a collective bargaining agreement with the players. If an agreement couldn’t be reached, then MLS fans around the nation would have had to wait while the details were hammered out.
The tensions got even hotter earlier in March, when the players of the MLS agreed that they would strike should an agreement not be reached before March 25. The Associated Press quoted union executive director Bob Foose, who said in a statement, “Recent comments from players simply reflect the fact that the players are unified and, per the results of our strike vote, will not begin the new season if a new agreement with the league is not reached.” The proclamation will put extra heat on all negotiations leading up to the start of the season, which was the intention of the MLS Players Union.
The league is relatively young, and the CBA they are arguing would be only the second in league history. The first was a five-year deal, which was scheduled to run out on Jan. 31, 2010. Because of negotiations, the first CBA was extended two times. The union wouldn’t agree to another extension, so the CBA expired on Feb. 25. The Washington, D.C. talks were mediated by George H. Cohen, the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
One week before the season was ready to kick off, the MLSPU and MLS finally agreed to terms of a new collective bargaining agreement. The agreement will cover five seasons, starting in 2010 and going until Dec. 31, 2014. According to MLSNet.com, the league commissioner Don Garber said, “This new agreement allows us to work with our players to continue our mutual efforts to build the sport of soccer in North America. We worked hard during the past few months to develop a new agreement that addressed many of the players’ most important issues and look forward to a meaningful and productive new relationship over the next five years.”
According to statements from Foose, the players were equally as pleased with the agreement. Now, fans are able to purchase <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/mls-tickets/”>MLS tickets</a> for their favorite teams without worry. Tickets for every team in the MLS can be found at <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/”>StubHub.com</a>.
Although Major League Soccer began in 1993, it took a decade until the players came together to form the Major League Soccer Players Union. The founding members of the MLSPU executive board included Landon Donovan, Ben Olsen, Chris Klein, Tim Howard and Alexi Lalas. The union quickly got to work and signed its first collective bargaining agreement a year after forming (2004). Like other players’ unions, the MLSPU worked hard at the beginning to bring benefits to players in the league and also increase minimum salaries. Executive director Bob Foose is joined by lawyer Jon Newman as the MLSPU’s general counsel to help work on the business side of the MLSPU.
About the Author
This article was written by Julie Cudney and is sponsored by <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/”>StubHub.com</a>. StubHub sells tickets to sporting events, concerts and theater productions. Go to StubHub.com for <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/mls-tickets/”>MLS tickets</a>.
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