Baseball and blogging

Its been a while since our last post, between work and coaching a 9-10 baseball team, my time has been pretty eaten up, and nothing has caught my attention that inspired the effort to post. Lafe Solomon's renomination almost got me there as well as a couple of decisions, but not yet. I plan to do better.

No strike for baseball

Owners and players representatives inked a 5 year collective bargaining agreement virtually assuring labor peace in the sport through 2016. The agreement still has to be ratified but faces no serious threat in that process.

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.

Baseball players love them some EFCA

Twelve major league players have signed on in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. The Major League Baseball Players Association is a member of the AFL-CIO.