Sports lockouts loom in 2011

March 4, June 30, and December 11 2011 are fateful dates for labor according to this AP feed.  Those are the dates the NFL, NBA and MLB labor agreements expire. (The NFL agreement expires September 15, 2012). Lockouts loom likely in both the NFL and NBA, although it seems more likely MLB will reach a deal. Perhaps that is because baseball suffered twelve years of reduced attendance after the 1994-95 strike. These labor negotiations are a potential game changer for labor which has seen its public image take a huge hit in the last few years. Prior posts here. The players are the presumptive beneficiaries of public opinion, but the anti-labor noise machine has not engaged yet. This will be an epic public relations struggle, and one with high stakes for organized labor, not to mention the fans and the host cities. Who will take the fall for the disruption? That is the underlying struggle worth watching.