MLB
MLB, players union meet for informal talks
Major League Baseball officials and representatives of the players association have met informally after they failed to hammer out a labor agreement.
Major League Baseball officials and representatives of the MLB players association have met informally in an attempt to resume talks to resolve the labor impasse that has caused the 2022 baseball season to be pushed back.
The two sides had failed to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement after nine consecutive days of talks.
Other baseball stories:
No formal offers
MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem and MLBPA lawyer Bruce Meyer- who led the negotiations for their respective sides- reportedly met in New York City for approximately one and half hours.
They were joined by MLB senior vice-president Morgan Sword and Ian Penny, another lawyer for the players union.
The parties covered some contentious points, but did not make any official proposals. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale says the league wants to implement three rule changes: banning shifts, a pitch clock, and employing oversized bases.
These amendments cannot be enforced before the 2024 season unless the MLBPA agrees. The league wants to move it up a year and have them implemented next year.
No date for 2022 MLB season to begin
The latest talks come just days after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the cancellation of Opening Day on March 31 and the first two series of the the 2022 season. This development marks the first time games will be cancelled because of a labor disagreement since the 1994-1995 players’ strike.
Team owners had initiated the lockout in December and set the Feb. 28 deadline to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement. The players union have said that the league had imposed that deadline to force them into accepting terms that were unfair to the players.
The negotiations broke down, the deadline was unmet, games were cancelled, and now players will be unpaid for the games that they will miss.
Among the thorny issues that have not been resolved are the minimum salary and competitive balance tax thresholds.
There is no indication as to when the two parties will sit down for further negotiations. In the meantime, baseball fans will have to wait to find out when the first pitch can finally be thrown for the 2022 season.