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Labor Problems In The WNBA
Two weeks ago, when WNBA Players Association head and Houston Comets guard Sonja Henning mentioned the possibility of a strike; it sent ripples through the sports world. WNBA players don't want to be painted as spoiled athletes, out for money and fame, with fans taking a back seat. But when the collective bargaining agreement expires Sept. 15, they will want a bigger piece of the pie -- higher salaries, more marketing rights, free agency and increased health and life insurance benefits. The dilemma: How to get what they want without alienating fans or hurting the league. The two sides say they won't start working on the CBA until after the season. But as the league's sixth season nears its midpoint, the expiring labor agreement is on everyone's mind. Today, there is only one thing the two sides agree on: A strike could cripple the 6-year-old league, which is facing declining attendance, still fighting to attract fans and struggling to break into the crowded sports marketplace. "It's a last-resort kind of thing," Liberty players representative Tamika Whitmore said. "Both sides want to come to an agreement and get it done as early as possible and not have it lingering. We need to think about our fans. A lot of them don't like issues of so much controversy going on within the sport." But that doesn't mean the players won't pursue what they believe they deserve. "We know it's going to be a tough battle," Henning told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently. "But I think everyone, including the league, recognizes there are flaws in the current agreement." The players want: Increases in the average annual salary of about $42,000. The ability to endorse products that compete with league sponsors. Free agency. Across-the-board increases in health benefits. Right now, players are most concerned that the strike talk doesn't get overblown. There has been an effort to reduce the strike talk. "There's not going to be ... I mean, I'm pretty sure there's not going to be a strike," Liberty center Sue Wicks said. "The league wants to build women's basketball, and that's what we want. They're running the business, and we're trying for our personal stuff. Time now to move things forward." The Liberty hasn't helped ease the tension. Players Association Director of Operations Pam Wheeler was stripped of her season-long locker-room credential. The union filed an unfair labor charge the next day with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming a violation of their right to access the workplace. Wheeler will be allowed in on a game-by-game basis. "We need to stay together and keep some things out of the paper," Whitmore said. "When it's time to discuss the CBA, then discuss the CBA. Everybody just needs to come in, sit down, talk and come to an agreement as quick and as soon as possible to get this whole issue over with." Here is the crux of the negotiation, Whitmore said: "Some of the pioneers of this league and veteran players were promised a lot of things last time, and it just hasn't come through. That's all that they're really asking for. They want they're end of the bargain now, they're looking for the league to hold up its end." Wicks is excited for the negotiations to start. When the league signed its current four-year agreement, the players didn't have any bargaining experience, she said. The league had NBA officials on its side. This time the players are ready, with experience and professional help. As such, she expects things to go smoothly because, in the end, both sides want the same thing: The growth of women's basketball. It's the details they still need to work out. "A happy employee is a productive employee," Wicks said. "Good cliché, but it's true." [Source: The Newark
Star Ledger, Greg Bishop] |
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Copyright Women'Sports Services ©1995-2002 |
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NEW
YORK, NY They saw the effect a strike had on
Major League Baseball -- the drop in attendance and
revenues, the public criticism. So WNBA players insist
they will be careful.