(Orlando) Major League Baseball and the players’ association will resume negotiations Saturday in a bid to resolve the labor dispute after an 11-day hiatus without talks.
Posted at 12:20 a.m.
The session is to take place in New York after a three-day owners meeting in Orlando which is due to conclude on Thursday. The players have also planned a three-day huddle in Arizona and Florida. This will only be the fifth round of negotiations on major economic issues since the lockout began in early December.
At this point, it is virtually impossible for training camps to start as scheduled on February 16. This is the ninth labor dispute in Major League Baseball. The first since 1995.
Commissioner Rob Manfred is scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday at the end of the owners’ meetings. He has not spoken on the lockout since it began Dec. 2 when the collective agreement ended.
During the last discussion session on economic issues, the 1er February, the players’ union scaled back some of its proposals regarding players eligible for arbitration.
Two days later, the owners requested the intervention of a federal government mediator to facilitate negotiations, which the players refused last Friday.
A minimum of three weeks of training and preseason games is required before the start of the regular season. A delay to which must be added a few days to allow players to report to their team and respect the protocols related to COVID-19.
Players do not receive a salary until the start of the regular season, which is scheduled for March 31.
The players are asking to raise the luxury tax threshold from 210 million US to 245 million US, while the owners are proposing 214 million US.
The major leagues are offering a minimum wage hike from US$570,700 to US$615,000 for players with less than a year of experience, but with a clause preventing teams from paying more than US$650,000 for a year and US$700,000 for at least two years. The players want a minimum wage raised to US$775,000.
In terms of arbitration, the players want eligibility to be granted to players with two years of experience, which is the rule that existed between 1974 and 1986. The threshold has since been raised to three years. In the previous collective agreement, the threshold was three years, plus 22% of players with the most experience among those with more than two years but less than three in the circuit.
The owners don’t want to increase access to arbitration or reduce its revenue sharing, another demand from players.