|
Sports Illustrated just announced that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is the recipient of its 57th Sportsman of the Year award. In announcing the award, the magazine noted that the award recognizes Brees’s work on and off the field since coming to New Orleans in 2006. Along with leading the Saints to the team’s first Super Bowl win last year, Brees has played an instrumental role in helping New Orleans recover from the damage of Hurricane Katrina. What you may not know about Drew Brees is that he is also an active union member – currently serving as a member of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) Executive Committee. In this role, he’s worked to educate the public about the owners’ threat to lockout the players and cancel next season, a callous grab for more money that will affect hundreds of thousands of workers in cities across the country. Read more »         Thanksgiving is tomorrow, which means for most American families a day of eating excessive amounts of turkey and pumpkin pie, then sitting in a food coma on the couch and watching football. I say most families because somewhere along the line, my family started the bizarre tradition of watching Fiddler on the Roof. We’re not normal. Football is one of America’s most beloved pastimes. We have an entire culture built around watching it. But the NFL is ready to call a time-out and forbid players from hitting the field next season. Why? Because they want to completely eliminate ALL healthcare benefits for the athletes and their families, in addition to other ridiculous concessions. Read more » NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently announced that players would be responsible for any healthcare costs incurred during a league lockout. This kind of threat demonstrates the difficulties workers face in seeking a fair day’s pay—on and off the field. A lockout occurs when an employer, not a union, decides to stop work. In doing so, the employer hopes to force employees into a more desirable bargaining position, usually one that requires employees to make concessions in their next contract. In the case of the NFL, the owners have hinted at the use of a lockout to force concessions from the players and their union, the NFL Players Association. Read more »
In fact, the owners have ended their collective bargaining agreement with the NFLPA a year before it was due to expire. According to the owners, honoring the agreement with their players means operating at a loss, but the owners refuse to offer proof. Read more » |
Posts Tagged ‘NFL Players Association’
Union Shop
