WNBA commissioner says progress has been made in collective bargaining talks after another marathon session
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WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, said that progress is being made to create a new collective bargaining agreement.
The two sides met in another marathon negotiation session that started on Sunday afternoon and ended around 3 am on Monday.
“We’re working as hard as we can to get it done as quickly as possible,” Engelbert said. “It’s complicated. There’s a lot. There’s a lot of system stuff. There’s a lot of structural stuff. … This is a big, big league and we want to do everything we can for the players. So, we’re going to continue to improve.”
The two sides will meet again later on Monday for a seventh straight day of talks. It’s been a long week of negotiations with the WNBA and the unions meeting face-to-face for more than 72 hours since the first in-person negotiating session on Tuesday.
“We will continue. We will make this deal,” Engelbert said. “And, you know, it’s going to be history.”
Union executive members Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Alysha Clark were the ones who left at 2 a.m. Nneka Ogwumike and union leadership left an hour later after a 14-hour day.
“The fact that they don’t want to quit, both sides, it’s not just the league side, it’s the union,” Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti said. “They want to do it. I think it’s admirable to know that they are aware that this is important and time is important and we need to have a season.”
Income sharing, housing key points
The main sticking points have been the sharing of money and housing.
“It is very important for us to knock down those two things, which I think is the biggest thing on today’s list,” said Ogwumike, the president of the union on Saturday in the midst of discussions. “So we want to make sure we get that.”
The league’s proposals included net profit – revenue after expenses – while the unions talked about net income – revenue before expenses.
When negotiations began more than a year ago, the union was asking for 40 percent of gross income and dropped to 26 percent before Tuesday’s marathon in-person bargaining session. The league was giving the players more than 70 percent of the money.
If these two big things can be found, the season will probably be able to start on time on May 8. But the clock is ticking. Engelbert said he doesn’t know if training camp will be canceled on April 19 if a deal isn’t made soon.
“I’d like to know the answer to that. I don’t know the answer to that,” Engelbert said. “But you see us here at three o’clock in the morning, four o’clock in the morning, five o’clock in the morning. So that gives an indication that both sides are willing at that time.”
The league’s first home games are April 25 when Caitlin Clark and Indiana visit New York and Seattle plays Golden State.
Before the preseason even takes place, there is much to be done with the expansion drafts of Portland and Toronto and free agency for 80% of the league. The college framework also needs to be done.
