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'Unified voice' MLS recognizes newly formed players unionPosted: Thursday April 17, 2003 5:27 PMATLANTA (SI.com) -- The Major League Soccer Players Union (MLSPU) has been designated by the players to serve as their exclusive bargaining representative. Major League Soccer said Thursday that the league has recognized the MLSPU, in accordance with the National Labor Relations Act. MLS said it anticipates that the collective bargaining process will begin in the near future. The MLSPU is an independent union and was not involved in the lengthy antitrust litigation that overshadowed labor relations in the league for the past six years. In October, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston in 1997 by seven MLS players with representation by the NFL Players Association. Prior courts, including a jury trial in Massachusetts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, had ruled against the players. "MLS looks forward to developing a productive relationship with its players through collective bargaining," said MLS commissioner Don Garber. "As we have stated since the league's inception, we want to partner with the players to continue developing professional soccer in the United States." After arbitrator Andrew Strongin on Thursday certified a majority of votes among players, the union was certified as their exclusive collective bargaining representative. "Professional athletes in every major league sport have union representation," said D.C. United's Ben Olsen, a member of the MLSPU's executive board. "We formed this union so that we will have a unified voice that will raise players' concerns with the league, engage in collective bargaining, and ultimately improve our terms of employment." The MLSPU is governed by the players. One player on each of the 10 MLS teams serves as a player representative, and there is a five-player executive board. "The players have worked hard and will continue to work hard to make MLS a success," said the Kansas City Wizards' Chris Klein, another member of the executive board. "Our objective is to receive our fair share now and to make sure that the players share in the future growth of the league." In addition to Klein and Olsen, the members of the executive board are Landon Donovan of the San Jose Earthquakes, Tim Howard of the MetroStars and Alexi Lalas of the Los Angeles Galaxy. "There are many issues that need to be addressed with MLS," said Lalas. "For example, the minimum salary has not increased since the inception of the league. "The players also want to make sure that we have a unified and independent voice through which to work with the league to continue to expand the growth of soccer in the United States." With their legal battle snuffed out by the U.S. Supreme Court in October, MLS players opted to unionize in an effort to improve their bargaining power against the owners. The 1997 class-action lawsuit claimed that the league's single-entity ownership structure was a sham designed to suppress player salaries. They also claimed that MLS conspired with the U.S. Soccer Federation to eliminate competition for the sport's top athletes. But a judge threw out the former claim and a jury rejected the latter, saying that even without another Division I circuit in this country, the league faced competition from premier leagues in Europe and Latin America, and from minor and indoor leagues in the United States. "The past is behind us," said Howard. "We want to look forward to the growth of professional soccer in the United States, and to better terms and conditions of employment for the players who make that growth possible." Said Donovan: "The players are unified, we are organized, and we now have a union that will represent us at the bargaining table." The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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