NFL Files Charges Against Players' Union
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KDKA/AP) - With two weeks remaining before the current collective bargaining agreement expires, the league has filed charges against the player's union with the National Labor Relations Board.
The NLRB is a federal agency that enforces the nation's labor laws and referees labor-management disputes.
In the charge, the owners say the union "consistently has failed to confer in good faith; respond in a timely and/or meaningful manner" to owners' contract proposals; and insisted on "disclosure of financial data to which the NFLPA has no legal right and then suspending negotiations unless and until such data is produced."
The league is claiming the union wants to avoid signing a new CBA and have the owners lock them out so the players can file an anti-trust lawsuit.
Union spokesman George Atallah says the NFL's "claim has absolutely no merit. The players didn't walk out and the players can't lock out. Players want a fair, new and long-term deal. We have offered proposals and solutions on every issue the owners have raised."
Players already have voted, team-by-team, to authorize decertifying their union if a new CBA isn't reached by the deadline.
The Steelers authorized the decertification back in October.
Back in 1989, players decertified the union, but returned in 1993 when a contract was reached with the league that provided for free agency.
