New York. The Players Association plan to submit a counter offer to Major League Baseball (MLB) el lunes, 11 days after the clubs submitted a proposal to the union when negotiations resumed after a 42-day break.
The union asked MLB on Thursday to schedule the bargaining session.
The clock is ticking to get a deal done in time for spring training to start as scheduled on Feb. 16.
Opening day scheduled for March 31 is under increasing threat, given the need for players to show up, follow COVID-19 protocols and have at least three weeks of workouts that include a minimum number of exhibition games.
Players don’t get paychecks until the regular season, and owners get only a small percentage of their income during the offseason. Those factors create negotiations that are a game of chicken until mid to late February, when significant economic losses become more imminent.
When the owners submitted their proposal on Jan. 13, the players reacted coolly, saying they would contact MLB when they were ready to respond.
Baseball’s ninth work stoppage, the first since 1994, began Dec. 2 with the expiration of a five-year labor contract that left players unhappy.
The parties differ on luxury tax thresholds and rates, eligibility for arbitration, level of revenue sharing, size of the postseason, changes to the amateur draft, and other ways to address the union’s accusation of improper manipulation of service time by clubs.
