MLBPA, Owners Not Talking Salary Cap

Major League Baseball and the MLB Player’s Association held their first bargaining session Wednesday in Florida, this according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. Union chief Michael Weiner called the session “introductory”, but added that it was a productive start to the bargaining process.

With the NFL owners on the verge of locking out their players and similar unrest expected from the NBA this summer, many folks find it hard to believe that baseball has the sports world’s most stable labor relations.

But that’s just what’s happening.

There is a general feeling that we won’t see any labor disputes from baseball this time around, either. The collective bargaining agreement between the owners and the union is set to expire at the end of the season, but it’s tough to imagine a work stoppage taking place. The biggest reason for that is that the idea of a salary cap isn’t something that will be discussed.

“Our history has helped us,” Weiner said. “We’ve had our fights and I think the owners respect the players much more now than in the 1980s and early 1990s.”

Neither the player nor the owners are looking to make fundamental changes to the current agreement, so it’s expected that the negotiations will go smoothly. In a world where we will be forced to hear non-stop talk of the NFL labor dispute (even though their season won’t actually be affected for another six months), the harmony that seems will be coming to the baseball bargaining sessions is surely a welcome thought.

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