It’s a beautiful setting for the NFLPA’s union event in appreciation of the fans Tuesday evening — the famous Water Works restaurant at the foot of the Philly Museum of Art. We at Eagles Eye were honored to be selected among the top Eagles fan blogs to participate— and even given media credentials.
DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director, NFLPA will be at the Philly TailGate Event at the Water Works.
The tone at the event is expected to be gracious, with media and fans getting a chance to sit with NFL players and union reps, get some autographs, and grab some souvenier bags, not to mention free tailgate menu items served by the Water Works staff. Michael Donnelly, the media coordinator for the NFLPA, tells me he expects about 10 current Eagle players to appear for the event, with about 5 retired Eagles in attendance, also.
Sounds great. Looking forward to it…it kicks off at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 7. But what about the Elephant in the Room?
That invisible but tangible elephant would be the NFLPA’s just-issued advisement to the Eagles and all NFL players to “start saving their December game checks” in preparation for a failure of the collective bargaining agreement currently in negotiation… in other words, get ready for a lockout of the union by the NFL owners and a work stoppage in 2011.
Is this “warning” merely posturing for negotiation purposes, or is it the grim reality facing players and fans alike— an actual probability of a work stoppage? Maybe we’ll get a chance to find out by testing the mood of the dialogue Tuesday night at the Water Works.
Telling players to save their last three game checks this year in case there is no season in 2011 certainly seems ominous…
In a letter to the players that was seen by The Associated Press, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said the union had an “internal deadline” for agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement. “That deadline has now passed,” he wrote. “It is important that you protect yourself and your family.”
That seems like a harsh outlook.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello called the union’s deadline “disappointing and inexplicable, especially for fans. We hope this does not mean the union has abandoned negotiating in favor of decertifying and litigating,” he said. “We are ready to meet and negotiate anytime and anywhere. But it takes sustained effort and shared commitment to reach an agreement. One side can’t do it alone.”
The NFLPA’s website home page features a “Lockout Watch” that counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the CBA expires on March 3, 2011.
The one-page letter on NFLPA stationery reportedly seen by the AP said the union expects the lockout on March 4, and that players should work with their advisers to prepare for an impending lack of income. It also said the league threatened to cancel the players’ health insurance.
The union said it is filing a grievance to contest a cancellation of health insurance, citing a section of the collective bargaining agreement that states: “Players will continue to receive the benefits provided in this article through the end of the Plan Year in which they are released or otherwise sever employment.”
It’s amazing, but the loss of medical insurance coverage seems to have the players upset the most.
“You’re going to cancel somebody’s health insurance and maybe they’ve got a baby that’s due in the offseason?” Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light said. “Yeah, it gets personal.”
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello came off as a bit insensitive to the medical insurance issue when he stated no player would have to lose medical coverage “because of the federal COBRA law that allows employees to continue coverage at their own expense.” Yeah, Greg, have you ever been in that situation? COBRA’s running about $800/month per person just for the basic coverage… no extras, huge co-pays, and big deductibles. And it expires after 18 months.
If things are already so catty in negotiations that Aiello would try to sell fans on the humanitarian values of COBRA insurance coverage, maybe we are in worse shape for a new agreement than we thought.
We’ll have our reporters there at the union Tailgate Event at the Water Works to find out if anything new is revealed. Might even get that Winston Justice autograph I’ve been wanting, too…
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
