The labor negotiations between the NFL Players Association and the Owners is about to get a whole lot uglier.
According to multiple sources, the NFL Players Association plans to decertify by Thursday in an effort to pre-empt an owners-generated lockout.
If the union decertifies, it is no longer a union, and the National Labor Relations Board loses its hold over the NFLPA. The owners are expected to claim the decertification is a sham and challenge it in the NLRB.
Although one source says, “it’s not a rock-solid guarantee we will (decertify),” another says that the NFLPA has to do this before the current CBA expires at 11:59pm EST on Thursday evening to ensure that an injunction would be heard in fron of U.S. District Court Judge David Doty. Doty’s authority over the NFL expires as of Friday, March 4th.
The primary reason for decertification would be to file for an injunction that, if granted, would prevent the owners from locking out the players. NFLPA officials and players believe that this could be the only hope to have a full NFL season next year. Furthermore, decertifying as a union prior to the expiration of the CBA would allow NFL players to seek injunctive relief and commence anti-trust action against owners in front of Doty.
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