The NFL and NFL Players Association agree they should return to mediation. They just can't agree on anything else.
The two sides traded letters earlier Thursday, essentially agreeing that more negotiations are needed in their labor mess, but disagreeing on the form of talks and the location. The NFL wants to
return to Washington to hold "collective bargaining" talks under the guidance of George Cohen, a federal mediator. The NFLPA wants the talks to be about settling "the current litigation" and have
them overseen by U.S. District Court.
Those are important distinctions that cut right to the heart of their current labor war, where both sides are afraid to give up whatever leverage they have and are suspicious of each other's motives. Not surprisingly, due to those disagreements, sources on both sides agree that no talks are likely before Judge Susan Nelson issues a ruling in "a couple of weeks" on the players' request for an injunction to block the current NFL lockout.
In other words, two well-crafted letters later, the sides are right back where they were when the lockout began on March 12.
The players' letter was notably sent by the lawyers for Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and the other named plantiffs in Brady v. NFL – the NFLPA's antitrust lawsuit against the league. It was sent to Judge Nelson one day after she urged the two sides to resume mediation under her jurisdiction.
The letter said that was "an excellent suggestion" and said the players "are prepared to engage in such mediation without delay."
The NFL, meanwhile, sent a letter to the players' attorneys, according to a league source, proposing a return to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service building in Washington, D.C., where Cohen had presided over several weeks of failed talks in February and March. The NFL said owners would be involved, according to the source, and even gave the players assurances that the talks wouldn't be used to compromise any legal position.
That's important because the NFLPA is fearful that a return to the collective bargaining table with negotiators instead of lawyers could be used to further the NFL's argument that the decertification of their union was "a sham". In fact, the players even made that a contingency of returning to talks under Judge Nelson, saying they'd only do so if the NFL agreed not to argue "that such mediation efforts constitute 'collective bargaining' or otherwise arise out of a 'labor relationship.'"
There are other issues too, such as the NFLPA's belief that Judge Nelson will eventually rule in their favor, and the NFL's desire to not have a federal judge involved with the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. That's what happened in 1993, which gave U.S. District Court Judge David Doty jurisdiction over the last CBA and led to years of losses in court for the league against its players.
Because of all that, it appears both sides will choose to wait out Judge Nelson's ruling, despite all the correspondence. It's also a near certainty that the losing side will appeal her decision to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, all but guaranteeing this labor mess and lockout will drag on until June or July.
