 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2014) |
 | |
| Founded | April 17, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 7500 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, Maryland |
| Location | |
Key people | Bob Foose, Executive Director |
| Affiliations | FIFPro (full member) |
| Website | www |
The MLS Players Association (MLSPA) is the union of professional Major League Soccer players. The MLS Players Association serves as the exclusive collective bargaining agreements representative for all current players in MLS. [1]
The MLS Players Association (formerly MLS Players Union) [2] was formed in April 2003 after the conclusion of Fraser v. Major League Soccer . The founding members of the MLSPA Executive Board included Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Chris Klein, Alexi Lalas, and Ben Olsen. Prior to the CBA, players received no form of retirement benefits, and many players lacked basic health insurance.[ citation needed ] On December 14, 2017, the MLS Players Union changed its name to the MLS Players Association and launched a full re-branding campaign. [3]
After negotiating with MLS in 2003 and 2004, on December 1, 2004, the Players Association and MLS signed the first-ever collective bargaining agreement (CBA) covering MLS players for the 2005 season to the 2009 season inclusively. Among other things, the CBA increased minimum salaries, established a 401(k) plan with guaranteed contributions from MLS, and guaranteed [3] that all players and their families will be provided with 100% fully paid health insurance benefits. In addition, the CBA provides for an independent arbitrator to hear disputes between MLS and the players. MLS and the Players Association also negotiated a substance abuse policy covering all players in the league, as well as a Group License Agreement.
The collective bargaining agreement ran through the 2009 season and in January 2010 the Major League Soccer players threatened to go on strike. [4] [5] The union had voted in favor of a strike if a new deal was not reached before the beginning of the season. [6] The labor agreement expired on January 31, 2010. Progress had been reported in negotiations with the Players Association, with the major issues reportedly player transfer and guaranteed contracts. The Players Association had accused MLS of failing to abide by international regulations set down by governing body FIFA, but the league denied the charge.[ citation needed ] FIFA said they would not intervene in a labor dispute. [7] The MLSPA advised players to report to camp as planned. Reports had been conflicting about the actual possibility of a work stoppage. Both sides agreed to extend talks to February 12, and then extended then again to February 25, 2010.
On March 20, 2010, MLS and MLSPA signed a new 5-year agreement commencing with the 2010 season and continuing through January 31, 2015. [8]
On March 4, 2015, the MLS and MLSPA agree to terms on a third Collective Bargaining Agreement for a duration of 5 years. [3]
On February 6, 2020, a new 5 year Collective Bargaining Agreement was struck between the MLS and the MLSPA. [9]
In professional sports, a salary cap is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Several sports leagues have implemented salary caps, using them to keep overall costs down, and also to maintain a competitive balance by restricting richer clubs from entrenching dominance by signing many more top players than their rivals. Salary caps can be a major issue in negotiations between league management and players' unions because they limit players' and teams' ability to negotiate higher salaries even if a team is operating at significant profits, and have been the focal point of several strikes by players and lockouts by owners and administrators.
The National Hockey League Players' Association is the labour union for the group of professional hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey League (NHL) located in the United States and Canada. The association represents its membership in all matters dealing with their working conditions and contractual rights as well as serving as their exclusive collective bargaining agent.
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director Lloyd Howell. Founded in 1956, the NFLPA is the second-oldest labor union of the four major North American professional sports leagues; it was established to provide players with formal representation to negotiate compensation and the terms of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The NFLPA is a member of the AFL–CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States.
The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is the labor union representing all current Major League Baseball players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held a signed contract with a Major League club are eligible for membership in the Association.
The NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is the basic contract between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA), designed to be arrived at through the typical labour–management negotiations of collective bargaining. On January 6, 2013, an agreement was tentatively reached after a labour dispute cancelled 510 regular season games of the 2012–13 season, and was ratified by the league's Board of Governors on January 9, 2013, as well as by the NHLPA membership three days later on January 12, 2013. As originally signed, the 2013 CBA was a 10-year deal, longest in NHL history, expiring after the 2021–22 season. On July 10, 2020, the NHL and NHLPA announced the extension of the CBA through the 2025–26 NHL season.
The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play.
Sports law in the United States overlaps substantially with labor law, contract law, competition or antitrust law, and tort law. Issues like defamation and privacy rights are also integral aspects of sports law. This area of law was established as a separate and important entity only a few decades ago, coinciding with the rise of player-agents and increased media scrutiny of sports law topics.
A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company that regulates the terms and conditions of employees at work. This includes regulating the wages, benefits, and duties of the employees and the duties and responsibilities of the employer or employers and often includes rules for a dispute resolution process.
The 1998–99 NBA lockout was the third lockout of four in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It lasted from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999, and forced the 1998–99 regular season to be shortened to 50 games per team and that season's All-Star Game to be canceled. NBA owners reopened the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in March 1998, seeking changes to the league's salary cap system and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) opposed the owners' plans and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary. After the two sides failed to reach an agreement, the owners began the lockout.
Meghann Kay Burke is an attorney and executive director of the National Women's Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA), the trade union for players in the NWSL, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Burke led the NWSLPA to its first collective bargaining agreement in 2022.
The MLS Re-Entry Draft is an annual event in which Major League Soccer teams select players who are out of contract or have had their options declined by their current teams. Although the single-entity league does not have true free agency, the re-entry draft was created to provide an outlet of internal movement for veteran players.
The 2011 National Football League Player lockout was a work stoppage imposed by the owners of the NFL's 32 teams that lasted from March 12, 2011, to July 25, 2011. When the owners and the NFL players, represented by the National Football League Players Association, could not come to a consensus on a new collective bargaining agreement, the owners locked out the players from team facilities and shut down league operations. The major issues disputed were the salary cap, players' safety and health benefits, revenue sharing and television contracts, transparency of financial information, rookie salaries, season length, and free agency guidelines. During the 18-week, 4-day period, there was no free agency and training camp, and players were restricted from seeing team doctors, entering or working out at team facilities, or communicating with coaches. The end of the lockout coincided with the formation of a new collective bargaining agreement prior to the start of the 2011 regular season.
The following is a history of strike action in association football.
The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was reached on January 6, 2013, with its ratification and signing of a memorandum of understanding on the agreement completed by January 12, 2013, 119 days after the expiry of the previous CBA.
The NFL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a labor agreement which reflects the results of collective bargaining negotiations between the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and National Football League (NFL). The labor agreement classifies distribution of league revenues, sets health and safety standards and establishes benefits, including pensions and medical benefits, for all players in the NFL. The first collective bargaining agreement was reached in 1968 after player members of the NFLPA voted to go on strike to increase salaries, pensions and benefits for all players in the league. Later negotiations of the collective bargaining agreement called for injury grievances, a guaranteed percentage of revenues for players, an expansion of free agency and other issues impacting the business of the NFL. The NFLPA and team owners have negotiated seven different agreements since 1968.
The U.S. Women's National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) is a labor union representing the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT). The organization's primary mission is to protect the rights of the USWNT and to safeguard the economic and social welfare of all of the women's national team players.
The 2017 Denmark women's national football team strike was a two-month long strike by the players of the Denmark women's national football team. Supported by the players' union Spillerforeningen, the two-month long strike saw the eventual signing of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the players and the Danish Football Association.
The 2015 Australia women's national soccer team strike was a two-month long strike by the players of the Australia women's national soccer team. Supported by the Professional Footballers Australia unions, the players successfully won improvements in pay and working conditions. It was the first time in history that an Australian national sporting team had gone on strike.
The 2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout was the ninth work stoppage in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. It began at 12:01 a.m. EST on December 2, 2021, after MLB owners voted unanimously to enact a lockout upon the expiration of the 2016 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). It ended on March 10, 2022, with the signing of a new agreement. Issues raised between the league and union involved compensation for young players and limitations on tanking to receive higher selections in the MLB draft.
Professional women's association football players have organized to dispute several issues specific to the sport, such as disparities in compensation compared to men's teams; insufficient pay to compete with other women's teams; unfair or exclusionary financial terms of federation business agreements involving the team; a lack of minimum standards in facilities and treatment, especially compared to men's teams in the same federation, league, or club; reports of systemic gender-related abuse of players, including sexual abuse being ignored by league or federation officials; and a lack of benefits specific to women such as paid leave for pregnancy and maternity, and child care coverage.
| Eastern Conference | |
|---|---|
| Western Conference | |
| Future teams |
|
| Former teams |
|
| Personnel | |
| Competition | |
| Associated competitions | |
| Other | |
