The image of unions in popular culture and in current events plays a role in the impact of unions for workers in society. Labor unions in America hold great significance in society as they were created to represent the rights of workers in a collective bargaining agreement. One of the biggest current issues regarding unions is the strike against the Governor of Wisconsin’s budget repair bill. This repair bill would band public employee unions of most collective bargaining rights. This is similar to the National Football League Players Association where members are currently fighting for their own rights to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the NFL. The biggest difference between the two is that the union issue in Wisconsin involves employee unions that represent state employees that are paid by the taxpayer. The National Football League Players Association is a private association that represents the NFL players. In this lockout the National Football League Players Association is advocating for expanded health care benefits, revenue sharing, pension plans, more money for the players, and a guaranteed amount of games for the upcoming season.
The National Football League players look to this union for their rights as workers for the National Football League. The NFL has no guaranteed contracts for many players and the NFL has the shortest career span for professional athletes because of the intense impact in the game of football. With this said, injuries in the game are more prevalent than in most other sports and NFL players look to the players union for health care and rights to their contracts.
On March 11, 2011 the National Football League Players Union transformed into the National Football League Players Association which looks out for the rights of the players on an individual level. Many players were unhappy with how things were proceeding in the labor dispute thus far and did not like how the National Football League Players Union was handling the case. Many players believe that they would have a stronger case if they fought as individuals against the NFL, not as a union and looked to decertify the union and convert it into a free trade association.
When people think of professional football I think that the stereotype that immediately comes to mind is that these players have all the money in the world to take care of themselves. Although there are some high profile players who enjoy royalties from endorsements that could get them by if the lockout did in fact take place there are many players that make up NFL teams who receive low salaries and who would struggle greatly if this lockout took place. With how things are going many of these players felt that taking a different approach to this case from an individual standpoint may work in their favor. This decertification of the union allows the players to go forth on an individual level to follow lawsuits against the NFL. Jeff Saturday, a player for the Indianapolis Colts who is a member of the National Football League Players Association executive committee, stated the following about the decision to decertify from the National Football League Players Union to the Players Association,
“…you’re fighting the owners in a litigation battle; it has nothing to do with the union and an employer that they can keep you locked out. We felt like, ‘Hey listen, we don’t have to be a union, we can fight it as individuals, we can break this thing apart and it will allow us to keep football going. Because there’s nothing now causing the owners to keep the lockout; their fighting of it is to say that we are still union, which we’re not.’ So that was really our decision was to get our players back on the field as fast as possible.”
What I find interesting now is that the National Football League Players Association is using the fact that they are no longer a union as a bargaining chip in this labor dispute. On April 6 a court case took place in St. Paul, Minnesota where both sides, the NFL and the NFL Players Association, offered their stance on this collective bargaining agreement and labor dispute. The judge for this case found no ruling and called for an additional court date in a few weeks. Decisions are still to come regarding the labor dispute in the NFL lockout.
April 6th Court Case Clip
I am interested to see what will come of this decision as I have mixed opinions about the decertification of the NFL Players union. I will be interested to see if this decertification will help the players’ case or if it will hurt it since may people think this decertification is a sham. Looking back in history it is fascinating to see the different battles between fighting as an individual and fighting as a union. Some issues were better fought as individuals and some proved to be better fought as a union or a group. The power that the NFL players hold as individuals may or may not be proven successful and I await the outcome of this issue at hand.
Questions to Consider;
In this particular instance do you think that the National Football League Players Association was smart in decertifying from the union? Will this action help the players get what they want?
Although some people may disagree, the National Football League and the National Football League Players Association get high media attention, especially during this lockout time, and can be influential in their actions. Could the fact that the National Football League Players Union switched into a free trade association be an influence or trend for other unions? Do high profile athletes involved in this players association become a factor in its publicity and influence?
Sources
1. “Jim Brown: 'There's no way' NFL players are united in lockout”- Sean Leahy, USA Today, April 21, 2011 http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/04/jim-brown-theres-no-way-nfl-players-are-united-in-lockout/1
2. “NFL Labor Negotiations: Greed Is the Motive for the NFLPA”- NetRight Daily, March 14, 2011
3. “Players Show Sign of Cracking in Labor Dispute”- Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports, April 20, 2011
4. “NFL Players Take Battle To Courts”- The Associated Press, YouTube, April 6, 2011
6. “NFL Owners Lock Out Players”- Alex Marvez, Fox Sports, March 12, 2011 http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/NFL-Players-Association-union-decertifies-labor-talks-owners-031111
7. “Jeff Saturday: ‘It’s already frustrating’”- Aaron Wilson, National Football Post, March 29, 2011
8. “Report: Players to File for Intervention”- ESPN.com News Services, April 20, 2011
9. “Wisconsin Unions Call For General Strike”- Grace Wyler, Business Insider, February 22, 2011
Posted By: Rachel Ripken
