Monday, August 19, 2002
Clock ticks as negotiations resume
By Hal Bodley
USA TODAY
Baseball negotiators, faced with a two-week deadline before players go on strike, head back to the bargaining table Monday, hopeful of tackling the key issues that could cause the ninth work stoppage since 1972.
Players vowed Friday to walk out after games of Aug. 29 if a labor agreement isn't reached.
Union player reps, in a 90-minute conference call, voted unanimously to implement the Aug. 30 strike date that was agreed upon, but not implemented, during the Aug. 12 in-person executive board meeting in Chicago.
Negotiators held two sessions in the New York offices of Major League Baseball on Saturday for a total of about three hours, but didn't discuss the key issues. Instead, they dealt with the rather vague topic of contract language and once again studied debt regulation issues. Union chief Don Fehr didn't attend the sessions.
“We'll be back at it bright and early Monday morning,” said MLB president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy.
The key issues of luxury tax and revenue sharing weren't discussed Saturday. Owners want a luxury tax that slows player salaries, but have proposed a far lower threshold — $102 million — and a higher tax rate than the union says it will accept.
“The players are committed to reaching a fair and equitable agreement, one which takes into account their views, and not just those of the owners,” said Fehr. “Needless to say, we're prepared to meet and bargain with the owners' representatives until an agreement is reached.”
Management's lead negotiator, Rob Manfred, said owners are disappointed the players set a date. He reiterated a deal can be worked out at the bargaining table.
At his ranch near Crawford, Texas, President Bush said he'll be “furious” if the players carry out their threat to strike
“They need to keep working,” he said. “The baseball owners and the baseball players must understand that if there is a stoppage, a work stoppage, a lot of fans are going to be furious, and I'm one of them.”
Rangers owner Tom Hicks, who raised the salary bar when he signed free-agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252 million contract nearly two years ago, isn't convinced the owners' current proposal is enough.
“I think a majority of the owners, including me, would probably like to have even stronger cost-containment than we're talking about right now,” he said. “If the players do go on strike, I'm confident ownership will not allow a repeat of 1994. We need to fix baseball and not just have another Band-Aid solution.”
The last strike began Aug. 12, 1994, dragged on for 232 days, and wiped out the World Series for the first time in 90 years. The walkout ended only after a federal judge issued an injunction restoring the rules of the expired labor contract.
“We're trying to find a way to resolve the whole situation,” Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa said. “They set a strike date because I think things have been tough. We have to do what we've got to do.”
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Clock ticks as negotiations resume
