Labor Unions -- Labor Laws

Labor Unions -- Labor Laws

Labor unions in the United States have been the source of support for workers when it comes to collective bargaining and worker's rights, and they have been a source of frustration for employers in many cases. In this paper the National Football Players Association (NFLPA) will be the focus.

The National Football League Players Association was started in 1956 but it did not have its full program of rights and responsibilities until several years later. The owners of the 12 teams in the league at that time did not want to pay the players very much but the players were demanding at least $5,000 per player per year. When the owners stonewalled the player negotiators -- and simply refused to negotiate -- the players association sued under the U.S. antitrust laws. The owners were obliged to cooperation with the association (later to become a union).

There are serious legal issues that are currently being litigated involving the NFLPA and the NFL. In 2011, it was discovered that members of the New Orleans Saints had set up a "bounty" program; players received cash (up to $10,000, reportedly) for injuring opponents. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fined these players and issued suspensions, including a suspension for a full year for Jonathan Vilma. Vilma (and other players) have sued the NFL and Goodell for defamation of character, saying that Goodell didn't abide by the collective bargaining agreement. Moreover, Vilma's attorneys said "Goodell did not have jurisdiction to appoint himself the arbitrator… because the accusations included on-the-field activity that, under the league's labor deal, is supposed to involve an arbitrator other than the commissioner" (Plaisance, 2012).

Goodell, for his part, said he has the right under the collective bargaining agreement to discipline players who exhibit "conduct detrimental" to the game act with "malice" and who break the rules in dramatic fashion.

This case is being heard in Federal Court in New Orleans, which has jurisdiction over state courts. What the courts do is examine the collective bargaining agreement to see if there were violations by management. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), unions have a right to bargain with management and their agreements must be upheld. This lawsuit should be settled between the players union and the NFL, with the NFL agreeing to cut Vilma's suspension in half as a compromise. Carrying this bitter debate out in a public display of acrimony would not serve the NFL or the players well.