Players union may be locked out when contract expires

Don Davis of the NFL Players Association says the group is excited about its partnership with the UAW.

Super Bowl XLV may have been the last bit of NFL football you see for quite some time.

At press time, the clock was ticking down to March 3 – the last day of the players’ union collective bargaining agreement – and all eyes were on the NFL team owners and National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).

Granted, in these tough economic times it may be difficult for some to empathize with the plight of the NFL players association, who could be facing a lockout by team owners.

That’s one reason former NFL standouts Jason Belser and Don Davis made their case in Washington to more than 1,000 delegates to the 2011 UAW Community Action Program (CAP) Conference in January.

Both NFL professionals served as team union representatives during their playing days and remain committed to fight for workers’ rights in their NFLPA roles.

“I know you may be thinking: These spoiled brats; just get over it. You make more money in one day than we make in years,” said Davis, an NFLPA regional director and winner of two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. “But not everybody does. This fight is about labor and management. It always has been and it always will be.”

Since signing the 2009 collective bargaining agreement, the league’s annual revenue has grown to $9 billion. But NFL owners are not satisfied with the status quo. They want more and have threatened to eliminate health care coverage for players if there is a lockout.

With strong union density in many NFL cities, the UAW has committed their support to the NFLPA in their efforts to win justice for its players.

“We decided that it was the right thing to do to get engaged in that fight,” said UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel. “We went to the NFLPA and told them that we wanted to be a part of this struggle. It doesn’t matter if you work on the [assembly] line or on the line of scrimmage. You still have a boss, and the boss is still out to take what he can from you.”

“Our fight in this lockout is not about the 1,800 players. It’s about how this affects the 152,000 workers in 32 stadiums around the country,” said Belser, a former defensive back for the Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs.

To sign a petition to block the lockout, visit: nfllockout.com

DSO musicians’ strike continues

In a more atypical “players union,” musicians with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) remain on strike. At press time, if a deal wasn’t reached by mid-February, the DSO board was likely to cancel the rest of the season.

The Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local 5, have been on strike since Oct. 4, 2010, resumed talks with management on Jan. 29. The two sides are operating under a news blackout in order to preserve the legitimacy of current talks. The musicians walked off the job when DSO officials imposed a new contract that cut musicians’ base pay by about 33 percent in the first year for current musicians and 42 percent for new hires, as well as reductions in their pension benefits.

To support themselves and their families, DSO musicians and stagehands have been holding concerts at other venues and playing for donations in the form of ticket sales since the strike began. Meanwhile, the DSO music director has been collecting $65,000 per week in salary – even though the orchestra hasn’t been playing.

“It’s time for DSO executives to put an end to the pain they are causing the community,” said Stump. “Senior executives should not be drawing one thin dime of money donated by generous individuals and corporations to fund the production of music. Without any shows, they are essentially getting money for nothing, and that’s not good business in anybody’s book.”

For more on the DSO fight, visit detroitsymphonymusicians.org

Gwynne Marie Cobb
Herman Jenkins contributed to this article.