Steve Bulpett: Union Faces Tough Task

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

              Boston Herald
              Players' union                   
              faces tough
              choice
              by Steve Bulpett

              10/22/98

              With the NBA
              players' union
              leadership
              meeting
              yesterday in Las
              Vegas and the
              general
              membership set
              to convene there
              today, there is
              one collective
              question the
              group must ask
              itself.

              Do we feel
              lucky?

              The prospect for
              a swift
              conclusion to
              the labor
              impasse seemed
              distant as union
              director Billy
              Hunter and
              president
              Patrick Ewing
              led a discussion
              that focused on
              ways to buttress
              the association
              in the face of a
              long work
              stoppage. The
              first two weeks
              of the NBA
              season have
              already been
              canceled and the
              talk yesterday
              was about
              exhibition games
              to raise money
              for the union,
              lines of credit
              from banks and
              other sports
              union for
              players and
              exploratory talk
              of a new league.

              In the latter
              case, a
              subcommittee
              will be formed
              to look into
              breaking away
              from the NBA if
              the entire
              1998-99 season
              is lost.

              "The message
              that's going to
              come loud and
              clear out of
              this session is
              that the players
              are prepared to
              hang as long as
              they have to
              hang," Hunter
              said. "As soon
              as that message
              arrives home,
              then I think the
              NBA owners will
              be prepared to
              sit down and
              engage in
              good-faith
              negotiations."

              The failure of
              the union to
              agree to sit
              down and
              negotiate,
              however, is an
              issue, according
              to NBA
              leadership.

              "This union
              leadership
              stymies us,"
              commissioner
              David Stern
              said. "Russ
              (Granik, the
              deputy
              commissioner)
              and I, for
              something over
              50 years
              combined, we've
              been able to
              negotiate with
              every other
              combination of
              executive
              directors and
              presidents in
              the history of
              this union. And
              somehow we are
              unable to have a
              conversation
              that gets us any
              negotiation."

              Added Granik:
              "In terms of
              pressure to come
              back to the
              bargaining
              table, my
              goodness, if
              both sides don't
              have pressure to
              make a deal,
              then there is
              something we
              don't
              understand."

              After losing a
              grievance ruling
              Monday that
              would have
              forced the
              owners to pay
              players with
              guaranteed
              contracts during
              the lockout, the
              union is looking
              for a power
              base. But in
              that the league
              seems to hold
              all the cards in
              the current
              labor matter,
              the union's only
              alternative may
              be to knock over
              the table and
              walk out. In
              other words,
              though it said
              yesterday it was
              a last resort,
              it may chose to
              decertify
              itself.

              In that case,
              the union
              (officially the
              National
              Basketball
              Players
              Association)
              will be removed
              as bargaining
              agent for the
              players, who
              will then be
              able to sue the
              league on
              antitrust
              grounds.
              Traditionally,
              union members
              accept certain
              conditions that
              may be counter
              to antitrust
              laws in exchange
              for inducements
              -- financial and
              otherwise.

              With the players
              having voted
              this summer to
              allow the union
              leadership to
              decertify if it
              chooses, the
              move could be
              made quickly.
              But it would
              likely be a long
              and uncertain
              road for the
              players.

              If
              decertification
              were to occur,
              an injunction
              would be sought
              to end the
              lockout and the
              NBA would impose
              its new rules
              and go back to
              playing while
              the players
              fight the matter
              in court. Those
              players with
              contracts under
              effect would go
              back to their
              salaries, but
              free agents and
              rookies would be
              forced to play
              by the new rules
              and then hope to
              get money down
              the road through
              the legal
              process.

              The closest
              example is that
              of the NFL
              players, who
              decertified
              after their 1987
              strike and went
              through a
              five-year court
              battle with the
              owners before
              settling. It may
              also be
              instructive for
              the NBA players
              to note that the
              NFL now has a
              hard salary cap,
              meaning there
              are no gaping
              loopholes as
              with the NBA's
              soft cap.

              As it stands
              now, the NBA
              owners can wait
              out the union,
              which has
              avoided attempts
              at negotiation
              since last
              week's session.
              The league is
              receiving its
              scheduled
              payments from
              both NBC and
              Turner
              Broadcasting
              and, even though
              they may have to
              alter future TV
              contracts to
              keep that money,
              it is clearly
              putting the
              clubs in a much
              better financial
              state to
              withstand the
              absence of
              games.

              Stern and Granik
              believe the
              union's rank and
              file do not
              understand what
              the league is
              offering -- a
              package they say
              will raise
              salaries by 20
              percent over a
              four-year
              period.

              Hunter,
              meanwhile, seems
              to think the
              onus is on the
              league.

              "What the owners
              may not realize
              is that if they
              continue to
              antagonize the
              fans, the fact
              the players will
              miss a few
              paychecks may be
              the least of
              their worries,"
              he said. "The
              product may
              suffer enormous,
              irreparable
              damage."