http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/cflpa-preparing-for-potential-labour-stoppage/

 

"Believing they have reached an impasse after four months of negotiations with the Canadian Football League, the CFL Players’ Association is recommending its membership proceed with a strike vote, Sportsnet has learned.

The collective bargaining agreement between the league and players expires May 30, on the eve of training camp. And while both sides are scheduled to meet this Thursday and Friday in Toronto, documents obtained by Sportsnet indicate the union is readying itself for a potential labour stoppage.

“It is the position of your Negotiating Committee that the position of the CFL in relation to almost all matters and their refusal to have the cap in some way connected to revenue are unreasonable,” reads an internal memo written by CFLPA President Scott Flory and distributed to all CFL players last Friday. “As a result, we are recommending that the Players proceed with a strike vote.”

Flory, who did not immediately respond to Sportsnet’s request for comment, has previously stated that the union will not play the 2014 season under terms of the expiring CBA, while both sides negotiate.

Sources told Sportsnet that when the two sides broke on May 2, the league, which declined comment for this story, said it would return this week with further input from governors/owners on making progress toward a new economic model.

Since talks began in February, the CFLPA has been steadfast in its pursuit of revenue sharing, something that wasn’t included in the 2010 deal but has existed between the league and the CFLPA in the past. The league’s negotiation committee has not budged from its stance of having a fixed cap.

At the centre of the debate is a new television deal, reportedly worth $40 million this coming season. The current deal is worth $15.3 million.

Last season’s salary cap was $4.4 million and proposals obtained by Sportsnet show the CFL has offered the following when it comes to player compensation:

2014 – $4,500,000.00
2015 – $4,600,000.00
2016 – $4,650,000.00
2017 – $4,700,000.00
2018 – $4,750,000.00
2019 – $4,800,000.00
2020 – $4,900,000.00
2021 – $5,000,000.00

There are several other points of contention. The CFLPA has proposed a minimum annual player salary of $55,000—with a 10 percent increase annually. The league countered with a $46,000 minimum, which caps at $49,000 in 2021.

The union has proposed practice roster players make no less than $1,000 a week (or $18,000 per season). The league has countered with $750/week, but to increase the practice roster size to 12, from seven, and implement “two-way” contracts, making it easier for teams to release players.

The union is also pushing for an increase to post-season playoff share, and a hike to the Grey Cup bonus cheque, which the league has refused.

One area the two sides have come to terms on is the increase in roster size–from 42 to 44 on game day. The extra two spots would be occupied by a non-import and one designated import. The reserve list would drop from four per game to two.

The CFL has proposed an eight-year collective bargaining agreement, double the length of the current deal. The union wants the duration to be “subject to negotiation.”

A source tied to the league, speaking on the condition of anonymity, believes the tactic of the league and its governors/owners is patience—the thinking being that the union will eventually give in once the risk of losing pay is a legitimate possibility."

Well if we give him a raise now, will he give back some money if/when the CDN dollar rises?  Yeah, I didnt think so. 

 

Its times like these you see the ego of people come out.  Its nice for us to think of the CFL as sort of that down to earth, grass roots league.  But it goes to show you there are people in it just for money who dont really "get" the reality of the situation.

 

Question:  How does a cap increase this season impact contracts?  If the cap goes up 3%, does every contract get a 3% raise?  Does it just give the teams more wiggle room for further signings? And if a team happened to not be at the floor after the cap raise, do they have to sign a player just to hit the floor or give a player an unexpected raise?

my guess, that money or increase would go to just the top players on the team, that's probably what the PA doesn't really get... it's not like the guy at the bottom of the depth chart is gonna get a significant raise, it's the "stars" that will. so for the bombers, maybe willy gets a bit, maybe turner and vega get a bit, but guys like i dunno, lets say matt bucknor and dan west, they wouldn't see an increase at all. The greed some of these players are showing and just downright stupidity (you have to call it that relating to banks ridiculous tweet) is just mind boggling. Some of them really don't get it at all do they. 

 

I'll tell you this much, this guy wont be buying a banks or moore jersey thats for sure. That's not a name i would be proud to wear on my back.

I'm going to my cabin on sunday so i wont be at the first day of main camp but... this is just a suggestion, there has got to be a way for fans to actually voice their displeasure with some of these guys, whether that be throwing a jersey on the field, whether it be chants like "we are actually the league". or something, perhaps turning backs to certain players like nick moore and kory banks. I'd love to hear about that. It would send a message that the fans will not put up with this bs for much longer.

 

Maybe nobody should show up even. I dunno, but... what these morons dont really get is without the fans, there is no league. They can all pretend, without the players there is no league but thats bullcrap, theres thousands of players down south who would come up here in a second to play. The players are all replaceable, the fans are not.

Some of the fans are dealing with this just as poorly as the players.

 

Seriously. There was hardly anything wrong with what Banks said and here are some of the responses:

 

"that's a slap in the face to the country and fans who provide you with employment"

 

"if there's a problem with the exchange rate, I'm sure the AFL is hiring. They pay in USD"

 

"then don't come up here and play. you and the league should keep your mouths shut. you're tarnishing our game. that's right our game!"

 

"don't like exchange rate, find a job in the US. there's lots of players to replace you #ignorant"

 

Like seriously. There's a difference between sharing your opinion and being disrespectful. All he's doing is sharing his opinion on the ongoing negotiations. Is he necessarily right? Not really, but that doesn't really matter. I'd rather they be misinformed than rude, like some of the fans are being in response. Obviously we all want a season, players and fans alike. Don't take it out on them if it isn't warranted.

Stupid people on Twitter? No way!

I'm going to my cabin on sunday so i wont be at the first day of main camp but... this is just a suggestion, there has got to be a way for fans to actually voice their displeasure with some of these guys, whether that be throwing a jersey on the field, whether it be chants like "we are actually the league". or something, perhaps turning backs to certain players like nick moore and kory banks. I'd love to hear about that. It would send a message that the fans will not put up with this bs for much longer.

 

Maybe nobody should show up even. I dunno, but... what these morons dont really get is without the fans, there is no league. They can all pretend, without the players there is no league but thats bullcrap, theres thousands of players down south who would come up here in a second to play. The players are all replaceable, the fans are not.

 

That doesn't give fans like you a right to be disrespectful towards the players. I've been paying attention to your posts throughout the entire process of the pending lockout. You've been incredibly emotional the whole time, switching from one extreme "there will NEVER be a lockout!" to another "if there's a lockout, the CFL could be gone forever" and now you've moved on to disrespecting players by singling them out and calling them morons, douchebags, etc. For all the heat they've taken about things, I have yet to publically see a player call anybody else (fan, owner, whoever) a douchebag or a moron so why is it acceptable for you? The worst thing I've seen is Nick Moore's tweet about the good faith reporting to camp thing and even though I already don't much care for him and I don't really support his statement, I also don't think it warrants somebody calling him a douchebag.

 

I think what I'd rather see than the fans turn their back at main camp is if you would actually be willing to go up to Korey Banks in person and call him a douchebag or a moron.

Some of the fans are dealing with this just as poorly as the players.

 

Seriously. There was hardly anything wrong with what Banks said and here are some of the responses:

 

"that's a slap in the face to the country and fans who provide you with employment"

 

"if there's a problem with the exchange rate, I'm sure the AFL is hiring. They pay in USD"

 

"then don't come up here and play. you and the league should keep your mouths shut. you're tarnishing our game. that's right our game!"

 

"don't like exchange rate, find a job in the US. there's lots of players to replace you #ignorant"

 

Like seriously. There's a difference between sharing your opinion and being disrespectful. All he's doing is sharing his opinion on the ongoing negotiations. Is he necessarily right? Not really, but that doesn't really matter. I'd rather they be misinformed than rude, like some of the fans are being in response. Obviously we all want a season, players and fans alike. Don't take it out on them if it isn't warranted.

I think its the lack of knowledge that frustrates fans.  As fans we are all hoping a fair deal for all sides is worked out and I think we all agree the players deserve a raise.  But I think when it comes to talk of strike or missed camps, missed games etc, when we see the lack of knowledge on one side of the negotiations, it's difficult not to be upset and feel "wow, these idiots are going to cost us games?"

 

Most of us that are fairly intelligent, even if we're not versed in labour process can likely see the deal that can be made here.  And when players start saying they are going without food or deserve a raise because the dollar is lower, you wonder if the divide is more due to failure to comprehend reality than anything else.

 

So I can see why that upsets some fans.  I thought the response about the AFL was hilarious and appropriate.  The other replies, not so much.

 

I'm going to my cabin on sunday so i wont be at the first day of main camp but... this is just a suggestion, there has got to be a way for fans to actually voice their displeasure with some of these guys, whether that be throwing a jersey on the field, whether it be chants like "we are actually the league". or something, perhaps turning backs to certain players like nick moore and kory banks. I'd love to hear about that. It would send a message that the fans will not put up with this bs for much longer.

 

Maybe nobody should show up even. I dunno, but... what these morons dont really get is without the fans, there is no league. They can all pretend, without the players there is no league but thats bullcrap, theres thousands of players down south who would come up here in a second to play. The players are all replaceable, the fans are not.

 

That doesn't give fans like you a right to be disrespectful towards the players. I've been paying attention to your posts throughout the entire process of the pending lockout. You've been incredibly emotional the whole time, switching from one extreme "there will NEVER be a lockout!" to another "if there's a lockout, the CFL could be gone forever" and now you've moved on to disrespecting players by singling them out and calling them morons, douchebags, etc. For all the heat they've taken about things, I have yet to publically see a player call anybody else (fan, owner, whoever) a douchebag or a moron so why is it acceptable for you? The worst thing I've seen is Nick Moore's tweet about the good faith reporting to camp thing and even though I already don't much care for him and I don't really support his statement, I also don't think it warrants somebody calling him a douchebag.

 

I think what I'd rather see than the fans turn their back at main camp is if you would actually be willing to go up to Korey Banks in person and call him a douchebag or a moron.

 

 

I tend to agree Mike.  I dont, at this point, see any reason for a show of "dissastisfaction" to the players yet.  Despite the stupidity and ill advised remarks of *some* players, most are probably chomping at the bit to get this behind them and get playing (which is why the PA wont put the league's latest offer to a vote, because it would likely be accepted).  Also, players are humans and emotional too and twitter is a great way to spout of emotionally without thinking about it.  Goes both ways.  Id cut the players some slack to a degree though I find it absurd that the PA didnt impost a cone of silence on their membership.

 

Also, I'd gladly walk up to any player and tell them I think they have a fair deal on the table and should accept it.  I bet most would secretly agree.

The way I see it is that these guys are football players and like you said, they're not the most well versed in labour negotiations. They're just hearing what they've been told from a fairly underwhelming players association. I totally agree that if the PA were to vote, the deal would pass.

We need a #letthemvote movement.

Some of the fans are dealing with this just as poorly as the players.

 

Seriously. There was hardly anything wrong with what Banks said and here are some of the responses:

 

"that's a slap in the face to the country and fans who provide you with employment"

 

"if there's a problem with the exchange rate, I'm sure the AFL is hiring. They pay in USD"

 

"then don't come up here and play. you and the league should keep your mouths shut. you're tarnishing our game. that's right our game!"

 

"don't like exchange rate, find a job in the US. there's lots of players to replace you #ignorant"

 

Like seriously. There's a difference between sharing your opinion and being disrespectful. All he's doing is sharing his opinion on the ongoing negotiations. Is he necessarily right? Not really, but that doesn't really matter. I'd rather they be misinformed than rude, like some of the fans are being in response. Obviously we all want a season, players and fans alike. Don't take it out on them if it isn't warranted.

Yes there was, his logic is ridiculously flawed and stupid.

A) Since the Canadian dollar is dropping, the players need a raise?  So in that case, we should all go to our bosses and demand a raise because our dollar drops.  So when our dollar goes back up do we get to pay him less?

Because our dollar is dropping, we should bankrupt the CFL so that he and the rest of the players can have an increase in pay?  That's very narrow and selfish thinking of him.  If the CFL were to pay what they want and it crashed and burned (worse case scenario), what about the future players?

C) When you make comments like that on twitter, you better expect the retorts, good or bad.  Social media is our first class ticket to stupidity and ignorance.  This is why I'm not on twitter or facebook.

 

That being said, I agree with you that the responses to what he said are idiotic.

It impacts them more because they are Americans who "live" in the US mostly and get paid in Canadian dollars.  Whereas you and I get paid in Canadian dollars and spend and live in Canada, we dont see any difference.  But it was still a stupid remark.

I've been critical here of the players speaking out on twitter over and over again, but I gotta agree some of the reactions here are pretty over the top.  Chants and boycotts of training camp? Ease up a bit, they're making themselves look dumb on twitter, not personally insulting you.

The way I see it is that these guys are football players and like you said, they're not the most well versed in labour negotiations. They're just hearing what they've been told from a fairly underwhelming players association. I totally agree that if the PA were to vote, the deal would pass.

I see you called me out there Mike regarding my tweets towards Korey Banks. I've seen many of your tweets on Twitter towards local media that is quite disrespectful, and you frame yourself as being a hero on here. In fact you mentioned several Winnipeg sports media have blocked you for your disrespectful comments towards them on twitter.

Mike, all I can say about fans comments on twitter is that people are emotional & angry. It's just a normal reaction. The owners & players are always saying how much they respect the fans yet to most of us we know it's a lie just to gain favour.There's a fan in Calgary who wants to organize a fan demonstration at McMahon Stadium on the first day of camp to let the players & owners know that without the fans the CFL is nothing. Don't know if it will happen but the idea has some merit. Be nice if that could be done at every training camp across the CFL to send out a message to both sides. 

Interesting article on the CFLs latest release

 

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=453545&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

Less than a day after talks broke down between the Canadian Football League and the CFL Players' Association for a new collective bargaining agreement, the CFL issued a memo to the media stating that even their own CBA proposal would lead to three of their nine teams losing money.

 

"We want CFL players and fans to have the facts," read the statement, written in a fiction vs. fact format.  

 

"Fiction: The CFL offer would set the salary cap at $5 million and the players want it set at $5.8 million, so they could just saw off the difference a little and get a deal.

 

Fact: The players' union's ask is actually much, much bigger. You see, a lot of player compensation does not fall under the cap. Things like benefits, pensions, pre-season and post-season pay, plus any bonus to be paid for ratifying a new agreement. If you look at everything in our offer and everything in their offer, you find that the CFL is offering to increase player compensation by $850,000 per team in the first year of a deal, and the union is asking us to increase player compensation by $2.4 million per team in the first year of a deal. Their ask is not realistic. Under their proposal, six of nine teams would lose money."

 

The league also reiterated that it made its best offer to the union, a response to what it calls 'fiction' - that all the CFL has to do is add a little more to its offer to get a deal done.

"It's the most we can pay," read the statement. "It was put forward knowing that under the CFL's best offer, three of nine teams would still lose money this year, even with the new TV deal in place."

 

After almost two days of talks at a Toronto airport hotel, the league eventually did increase its financial offer and the union removed any revenue-sharing percentages from its own proposal, but talks between both sides broke down Thursday afternoon. The current CBA expired Thursday at Midnight et.

 

"The players gave up revenue sharing last time because the CFL promised back then to put it back in this round of bargaining," added the league statement under the fiction heading. "That's not true. That was never agreed to."

 

There's been no update on if or when the two sides will meet again at the bargaining table, but the league and the union said it won't stop players from reporting when training camps open Sunday.

The league is certainly winning the PR battle.

The league is certainly winning the PR battle.

I've found the people actually writing the cheques usually win the PR battle as long as they can demonstrate what they are offering is fair and also that the people demanding more don't get that if they were actually paid what they were demanding that they'd be out of a job in six months. Most people can figure out who the bad guy is in that scenario. We've got the same thing going on here right now with our teacher union. Their demands are just insane, yet they expect the public to support them, even if it means our taxes have to be jacked up to pay them. Yeah that will make you really popular.

For what its worth, today Arash Madani on the radio said that he sees that both sides are really dug in and he does not know when or how this will end.

For what its worth, today Arash Madani on the radio said that he sees that both sides are really dug in and he does not know when or how this will end.

Madani is a drama queen.

 

For what its worth, today Arash Madani on the radio said that he sees that both sides are really dug in and he does not know when or how this will end.

Madani is a drama queen.

 

He really is. Everyday he has about a dozen posts where all he does is RT somebody involved in the process & add "Boom" or something else stupid to the end of it for dramatic effect.

 

For what its worth, today Arash Madani on the radio said that he sees that both sides are really dug in and he does not know when or how this will end.

Madani is a drama queen.

 

 

IRL too.  Talked to him a few times when he worked for the Bombers, and that's^ good way to describe him, a little far up his own you know what too.  I think he's a good fit for what he's doing now, and Darren Cameron is a great fit in the PR job for the Bombers.

 

 

For what its worth, today Arash Madani on the radio said that he sees that both sides are really dug in and he does not know when or how this will end.

Madani is a drama queen.

 

He really is. Everyday he has about a dozen posts where all he does is RT somebody involved in the process & add "Boom" or something else stupid to the end of it for dramatic effect.

 

 

He's dying to break something.  I'm waiting for him to go full CNN and break something big from a source that isn't true.

A) Since the Canadian dollar is dropping, the players need a raise?  So in that case, we should all go to our bosses and demand a raise because our dollar drops.  So when our dollar goes back up do we get to pay him less?

 

 

I mean really, when you think about it…..who knows better than Banks when it comes to currency exchange?

The company always has the better pr too. Unions might waste money on stupid things but it's rarely spent on pr and marketing.

Madani's nickname should be CNN....

 

Just like when CNN has the Breaking News flasher across their screen....

 

Then they announce today's breaking news is 'that there is NO BREAKING NEWS'.....