The union for Major League Soccer players accused management of failing to bargain seriously and wouldn't say whether it would play under the terms of its expired labor contract.
A day after MLS president Mark Abbott went public with the league's offer to start the season next month without a new deal, the union issued a statement that wasn't directly responsive and left open the possibility of the league's first strike.
"MLS's comment unfortunately shows that they are not serious about working to have the season start under the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement," MLS Players Union spokesman Neil Hare said Sunday in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "If there is a work stoppage during this important year for U.S. Soccer, it will be due to the league's failure to negotiate seriously with its players."
Hare said the union had no other comment and that no one on the union side had time to discuss the matter further Sunday.
While training camps began on time and the season remains set to open March 25, the league's first collective bargaining agreement expired Jan. 31. The sides have twice extended bargaining, and talks resume Monday in Washington. The current extension runs to Thursday.
Players want increased freedom of movement within the league and don't like that most contracts are not guaranteed. In the single-entity structure of the MLS, which launched in 1996, all players sign with the league rather than individual teams.
Players were quoted in several outlets Saturday as saying little progress had been made in talks. Abbott said owners had proposed giving an additional $60 million to players during a five-year deal.
Copyright 2010 AP News
