MLB and WNBA collective bargaining agreements are nearly one.
It is Labor Day and it is time to review what is going on with the workers and owners in sports. There are two potential problems with collective bargaining agreements running out in Major League Baseball and the Women’s National Basketball Association. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement is over on October 31st. WNBA players made their feelings known before the July 19th All Star Game by wearing “Pay Us What You Owe Us” T-shirts during warmups. The players want more money and the owners? They are being owners and want to limit players’ salaries. The owners could lockout the players on October 31st but there is a long time to get a deal done as the WNBA’s 2026 season doesn’t start until May.
Major League Baseball owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association are sabre rattling right now. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, who is the de facto chief collective bargaining negotiator for the 30 MLB owners, appears as if he is ready to bust the Major League Baseball Players Association in the upcoming collective bargaining talks. Simply put, he wants to pit the everyday rank and file players against the stars making money and their agents. Divide and conquer and maybe, just maybe Major League Baseball owners will get their salary cap. Manfred is also banking on a National Labor Relations Board who will side with owners if the players file a labor negotiations complaint against the owners. Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association Tony Clark responded to Manfred by calling his comments a “sales pitch” that is “full of misleading or downright false statements. The rest of the 2025 season and the 2026 season will not be impacted by labor strife.The owners want a salary cap and the players want a free market. It’s Labor Day.
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