A federal lawsuit has been filed by the NBA against the players union, with the intention of confirming the legality of the lockout that was imposed a month ago and to safeguard against potential litigation.
Furthermore, league officials have revealed that they are submitting a charge of unfair labor practice against the National Basketball Players Association, alleging that the union has not engaged in negotiations in good faith.
These actions follow a day of unsuccessful talks and occur just over a month after the prior collective bargaining agreement between players and club owners expired, leading to the second shutdown in NBA history.
While owners assert losses and demand salary reductions along with a strict payroll cap, players are striving to maintain the status quo established by the previous deal from 2005.
Each faction has reportedly retained about half of the $3.93 billion total in annual revenues.
The NBA’s actions reflect a strategy similar to the NFL lockout that recently concluded, during which the football union decertified to enable players to pursue an antitrust suit in U.S. courts, partly to challenge the legitimacy of the lockout.
Leaders of the NBA players union have suggested that decertification and an antitrust lawsuit might be viable strategies during negotiations, a scenario the league is attempting to avert through the labor charge and lawsuit against the union.
“These claims were made to eliminate the use of improper pressure tactics by the union that hinder the parties’ ability to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement,” stated NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver.
“For an agreement on a new CBA to be reached, the union must fully commit to the collective bargaining process in good faith.”
The lawsuit from the league aims to affirm that the lockout does not breach U.S. antitrust laws and that should a union decertification be deemed lawful, all existing player contracts would become void and unenforceable.
In the NFL scenario, players agreed to reinstate the NFL Players Association as a union, conditional upon the final approval of a settlement agreement reached during negotiations.
Currently, there are no indications that the NBA is nearing a similar resolution, as players contemplate signing with international teams for the duration of the lockout, while fans question whether the season will commence on November 1 as planned.
“We haven’t observed any progress. The gap between us remains substantial,” commented NBA commissioner David Stern.
“I don’t feel hopeful about the players’ readiness to participate in a serious manner.”
The current NBA shutdown marks the first since the 1998-99 season, which was shortened to 50 games. Some club owners in the NBA also had stakes in National Hockey League franchises when that league lost the entire 2004-05 season due to a labor dispute.
by Buford Balony
