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So although it is certainly possible that the union would choose to preemptively strike in 2021, any talk of a possible players strike is, more likely than not, misplaced. Moreover, preemptively going on strike ahead of the expiration of the CBA would also carry some potential legal disadvantages for the players, as well, as I’ll explain in a future post. This is especially true considering that the union’s likely motivation for the strike would be to change an economic system in the sport that many fans would view as having been quite beneficial to the players. Considering that the public has traditionally tended to side with the owners over the union during prior labor stoppages, explaining to fans why the players have chosen to endanger the end of the regular season and playoffs by striking before the CBA has even expired could be a particularly tough sell. Not only would the players have to voluntarily elect to forgo their salaries during a strike, but they’d also risk facing a potentially severe public-relations backlash by preemptively triggering a work stoppage during the 2021 season.
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Such a strategy would carry considerable risk for the players, however.
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That having been said, the MLBPA could, admittedly, try to get the jump on ownership by preemptively going on strike sometime during the 2021 playing season, ahead of the expiration of the CBA that December. So if a labor stoppage is to occur in 2021, it would, more likely than not, result from the owners electing to lock the players out. sports leagues have all taken the form of a lockout by ownership. Indeed, following the 1994 MLB players strike, the last seven work stoppages in the other three major U.S. Rather than allow the players to dictate the timing of the work stoppage, owners in the other leagues have learned in recent years that they are better off initiating a lockout themselves during the offseason in order to gain leverage over the players union, thereby increasing the likelihood that the labor dispute is resolved before it consumes too much of the playing season.
#1994 mlb strike interview professional
While baseball has enjoyed unprecedented labor peace for over 22 years, this helps explain why all recent work stoppages in the other professional sports leagues - including the 2011 labor disputes in both the National Football League and National Basketball Association - have come in the form of a lockout, rather than a strike. A strike in December or January would not have nearly the same effect. By sitting out games during the pennant chase and playoffs, the players imposed the maximum financial pain on ownership.
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This is the reason why MLB players went out on strike in August during the 1994 labor dispute, for instance. Instead, player strikes are most effective when they come in the midst of the playing season, depriving the owners of valuable television and ticket revenue. While MLB’s previous labor disputes have most frequently involved the players going out on strike, that would be unlikely in this case, since a strike by the players in the middle of the offseason would give the union little leverage over the owners. As I previously explained back in 2016, any labor stoppage in Major League Baseball would - at least for the foreseeable future - most likely come in the form of a lockout by ownership rather than a strike by the players.
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To begin, it’s important to understand how a work stoppage would likely unfold during the next round of collective bargaining. How a Work Stoppage Would Most Likely Arise
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