Does anybody think the NFL lockout is timed to go along with this nationwide anti-labor movement ?

[CrossChris]

It seems just a little too well timed. Like this entire push is coming from somewhere above. The NFLPA might not be exactly like other unions, but it is the most high-profile union in the country. Sometimes I wonder if the push to vilify millionaire football players isn't being timed to turn public sentiment against all the unions in this country.

Just wondering aloud...

[no limit]

1. Isn't public opinion with the players and not the owners on this?

[CrossChris]

4. Yes, I think it's backfiring. But the owners do have supporters among more conservative types.

But I don't even think they've started their spinning yet. Wait until the owners get their talking points out through Rush, et al, and I think they might get some momentum.

I'd like to think the owners overplayed their hand here, and it's going to backfire, but we'll see.

[no limit]

11. Thanks, Im not really paying much attention to it now. But I honestly dont think...

that the owners would lose out on literally billions of dollars just to make a political point.

[CrossChris]

20. They don't stand to lose much from a lockout, and would gain in the long run.

Somehow, the networks still owe them their money even if there's no season. I may be wrong on some details, but essentially, the owners get paid either way.

[socialist_n_TN]

28. I hadn't really thought about the OP's point, but.............

your point about it backfiring on the owners is pertinent, IMO.

Along with a LOT of other labor unrest AND what appears to be a concerted effort to break unions it makes workers (even millionaire players) seem to be underdogs. And the American people LOVE underdogs.

In addition, if this thing carries on into the season next Fall, you've got a LOT of folks who would normally be football brain dead to anything else, maybe starting to pay attention to OTHER things.

[Missy Vixen]

32. Owners have already overplayed their hand

First of all, anyone who bothers to read about the NFL knows that owners do not fund or maintain NFL stadiums. Owners are claiming they're "losing money", but the NFL made $8 billion in PROFIT last season, and the owners got $1 billion right off the top.

Players are now known to be courting brain damage and a much higher risk of early onset dementia, as well as coping with the 100% injury rate of the NFL. The average NFL career is three and a half seasons, and if you're drafted in rounds 2-7, you're not making the bank a first-round draft pick is. Plus injuries and the increased cost of health care, for the rest of your life.

Every day this drags on, it becomes clearer to Joe Watches-His-Team-On-Sundays exactly what this is: Union busting.

[CrossChris]

37. I think Jerry Richardson thought by attacking Peyton Manning, he'd score some points.

I don't know if you heard about that, but Richardson, the Panthers' owner, was apparently very rude to Manning during their recent meeting, making statements like, "what do you know about player safety?"

I think that sort of typifies the owners' arrogance here. They are definitely overplaying their hand.

[blondeatlast]

2. Let go of the RW framing--labor is labor, management is management.

We stand together strong, we fail when we splinter.

Nice try though.

[CrossChris]

6. I agree. I think that's what they're trying to do with this--reframe the issue politically.

I'm wondering if the NFL is doing this now, timed with a massive anti-labor push across the country, to have a year where labor is attacked mercilessly in the press (which would include the sports media, and work its way into every water cooler discussion in America)

Just brainstorming here.

[blondeatlast]

12. Could be--so we just push back harder. The AFL-CIO is doing quite

well so far, IMHO.

[meegbear]

3. Ummmm ... no.

[CrossChris]

9. Care to explain why it's so obvious? I'm not saying I'm right, I just wanna hear why ...

it's so obvious. Don't the other anti-labor moves (WI gov, push against teachers union) seem somewhat coordinated, or at least a part of a "climate" of anti-labor sentiment?

You're probably right, I just want to hear your take on it past "ummm, no."

[Godhumor]

5. Nope, just a coincidence

Plain and simple.

[Motown_Johnny]

8. agreed

this has been in the works for a while, it seems unlikely that it could have been planned that far in advance

[DefenseLawyer]

7. No, they are at the end of their most recent CBA

You are right that anti-worker voices are always using ball players as an example to bash unions and frame the "greedy" worker against the "struggling" entrepreneur, but the timing was already set.

[CrossChris]

10. No, they weren't at the end of it. Owners voted to vacate it two years early.

I might be off on the exact timing, but I know they voided it before it was originally set to expire.

[AngryAmish]

13. No. The owners opted out of the CBA a long time ago.

[FSogol]

14. They set the agreement up in 1993 and timed it to expire now to help the GOP destroy unions?

:rofl: I don't think they are that smart.

[CrossChris]

16. No, they voted to end it early. Maybe it wasn't that well coordinated, but they knew they could push

for it in today's climate where corporations control our elections and media.

Maybe that explains the "coordinated" feel of all the other areas that are pushing against unions.

I know I'm new here, but is it common for people to just answer with "UMMMM" and smilies rolling on the ground laughing instead of making points?

[FSogol]

25. If someone feels a comment is ridiculous, why waste time debating it or

"making points."

The "coordinated feel" you sense is the GOP using the (phony) "people's outrage" to bash unions. The NFL is so powerful as a media force/corporation that they are above all that. Sure, they'd love to crush their union, but I doubt they have anything to do with other anti-union works.

[socialist_n_TN]

36. RE: your last paragraph unfortunately, for some here, yes.............

Not a lot, but for some. Welcome to DU.

[blondeatlast]

17. Never underestimate the cleverness of the Republicans.

"We'll run a woman or a black man for president--it's a no-brainer; we'll win that way for sure!"

[SidDithers]

15. No...

The NFL lockout is timed to the expiry of their Collective Bargaining Agreement.

You can view the document here:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/20343876/NFL-Collective-Bargaining-Agreement-2006-2012

The relevant section starts on Page 240.

The CBA was supposed to expire at the end of the 2012 season, but in 2008 the owners exercised their right to opt out of the last 2 years of the agreement, making the 2010 season the Final Year of the agreement. From May 20, 2008:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80868b78&template=without-video&confirm=truehttp://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80868b78&template=without-video&confirm=true

Sid

[CrossChris]

18. Thanks for the info, didn't realize it was mid 2008.

I thought maybe they had vacated to void it more recently, which would be more indicative of some coordination.

I asked this question with no set opinion in mind, just wondering if others saw a pattern. I'm thinking that the pattern is more due to our management friendly political climate more than any pre-planned coordination.

You have to admit though, it is strange how there are so many anti-labor sentiments creeping up in all aspects of society, all around the same time.

[dkofos]

19. It is, and the players and all union members should try to take advantage of it.

[CrossChris]

22. I do think that if people rally around the players, it will have a positive impact on all labor

I think the owners haven't reached into their bag of dirty tricks yet. I'm still optimistic that sentiment will fall the right way.

[dkofos]

30. It's up to the players to get the message out.

They have the voice, they should use it.

[lame54]

21. if people aren't pre-occupied with football...

they might notice what is actually happening and wake up

[CrossChris]

23. That's why I think that understanding the labor/mgmt relationship through the NFL is the best hope

And precisely why I fearit will be used to help push anti-labor sentiment.

[lame54]

24. they are messing with a blue collar institution...

it could back-fire on them

[CrossChris]

33. I agree.

And I hope so!

[dkofos]

26. I doubt it, but one can hope.

[dembotoz]

27. does seem that way doesn't it. wondered it myself

being here is wisconsin

Packers and scott walker my god

sometimes strange things happen
not quite ready for conspiracy yet.

[Johonny]

29. not sure it's timed

seems like an anti-union agenda is rallying in the conservative world. Most NFL owners are a part of that world. So probably the current dispute and a rise in conservative rhetoric come from the same source.

[CrossChris]

38. This is exactly what I think. Would not be surprised if the Koch bros knew some owners.

That would make too much sense, wouldn't it?

[rocktivity]

31. Of course it is -- along with the St. Louis Cardinals manager suggesting

that Albert Pujols' holdout is the result of being influenced by the baseball players' union!

P.S. It's not a "movement"-- it's an all-out attack.

:crazy:
rocktivity

[CrossChris]

34. I had that thought for a split second. Probably just noticing everything anti-union that's out there

Which isn't very hard these days, but it's been out there all along.

[OneGrassRoot]

35. I'd love to see sports teams go the way of the Packers...

Become an employee-owned, or community-owned venture, not the typical corporation.

:thumbsup:

[Renew Deal]

39. No

There's no way this could be predicted. And if it was planned, it's going to work out better for the players than the owners.

[PVnRT]

40. Coincidence. The current agreement was going to be negoitated this year anyway

[CrossChris]

42. No, the owners voted to break the agreement early. Hence my questions about timing.

Right now, my money is on the Koch bros. Just a hunch, but why is it that all the NFL owners, Repub governors, and talking heads just so happen to be on the same page at the same time?

[Godhumor]

43. Um, they voted a long time ago (relatively speaking) to opt out of the CBA, as was negotiated

Nothing sinister happening here.

[CrossChris]

44. Maybe the push was timed to go along w/ the NFL owners' push

I just think it's a little too coincidental that the nationwide PR blitz against unions just so happens to line up with the most high profile union in America coming under attack.

If it's a coincidence, it's a very convenient one.

[Godhumor]

45. It is a coincidence. It would have to have been planned before the midterm elections

Knowing the winners, etc. to work, unless you believe they have planned to attack unions since the midterms to align with the coming lockout, which would also have required a significant amount of forethought and collusion. Occam's Razor time (Simplest explanation is usually correct), which is this coincides between the new governor of WI's beginning of term and the end of the current football season.

[DeSwiss]

41. It. Won't. Last.

They need football to keep people distracted and to keep the beer and Doritos flowing. Otherwise people might actually turn-off their teevees long enough for the subliminal effects to wear-off and then they run the risk of us coming to realize just how screwed we all are.

And whose doing the screwing.

- And I don't think they're not quite ready for that just yet.......

"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion.
At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery." ~Frank Zappa

[CrossChris]

46. Did I mention that Roger Goodell's wife is a FOX news reporter?

Not that that proves my hunch, but it certainly adds an interesting element to the debate. .

[RagAss]

47. Picket Lines are impressive with Pro Defensive Linemen up front !