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USSF files suit in dispute with players union

The Women's team won the World Cup and is seeking a better deal ahead of the Rio Olympics.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
An unprecedented lawsuit filed last week by the U.S. Soccer Federation against the union representing the women’s national team made public a monthslong, behind-the-scenes drama in which the players were trying to get a better deal ahead of this summer’s Rio Olympics.

It wasn’t clear last week whether the dispute ultimately will be resolved quietly, through private negotiations, or in an open courtroom with high-powered attorneys retained by both sides.

The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Players Association two months ago hired Jeffrey Kessler, outside counsel for the NFL Players Association and arguably the most high-profile players attorney in the country. U.S. Soccer, meanwhile, is being represented by powerful law firm Latham & Watkins, which filed the 100-plus-page lawsuit against the players union in federal court in Chicago.

U.S. Soccer attorneys last Wednesday asked a federal court judge to issue an order “that a collective bargaining agreement currently exists between the Players Association and US Soccer.” In the lawsuit, U.S. Soccer said it “reluctantly” filed the action to prevent “significant monetary and potentially irreparable harm that may befall US Soccer, the USOC, the NWSL and the United States should the Players Association violate the no-strike clause” contained in a 2013 agreement.

But that agreement, said union Executive Director Rich Nichols, is a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, and not a CBA.

“I am laughing, and we are pretty disappointed,” said Nichols hours after the lawsuit was filed. “We have an honest disagreement about whether or not there is a valid CBA, and we have an honest disagreement about whether or not the MOU has an expiration date.”

Sources close to the players said last week that the women were shocked that U.S. Soccer filed suit against them but that the legal action was uniting them. “This is simply a distraction that is galvanizing the players,” said a source close to the team.

U.S. Soccer filed the lawsuit on Wednesday hours after a meeting in which Nichols refused to agree that the women would not strike or take any other job action prior to Dec. 31. The U.S. women’s soccer team is expected to compete in the Rio Olympics, which start in August.

The dispute involves a strange situation. The union’s former executive director, John Langel, and U.S. Soccer agreed to an MOU on March 19, 2013. The next day, U.S. Soccer announced that both it and the union “have agreed to the material terms of a new collective bargaining agreement through 2016.”

Labor and management typically agree to a term sheet of conditions, or MOU, and later flesh out the agreement into a CBA. But in this case, a CBA was never executed, and it is not clear why. Neither the union nor U.S. Soccer would answer questions about what happened. Langel also declined to comment last week.

On Wednesday, hours before the federation filed its lawsuit, U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati declined to answer questions about the terms of the labor deal or to discuss the labor situation to any degree.

The financial statement for U.S. Soccer, meanwhile, states that both the men’s and women’s national teams are covered by collective-bargaining agreements: “The Men’s National Team CBA expires on Dec. 31, 2018. The Women’s National Team CBA expired on December 31, 2012. There currently is a signed Memo of Understanding in place while the full details of the new Women’s National Team CBA are being negotiated.”

Sources close to the women’s team players said the issues that were being discussed between the two sides included a marketing plan for the team; working conditions, including the fields on which the women were asked to play; and equal pay for women and men.

Generally speaking, labor disputes can chill marketing deals for players and their employers. Many players have already struck deals for Rio, and it’s not clear how this situation could affect those deals.

What is clear is the lawsuit and the hundreds of pages of documents filed in court will reveal previously private financial details, including whether there is a gender equity gap between the World Cup-winning women’s team and the players’ male counterparts.

“It’s fair to say there are definitely issues with regard to equality and equity with regards to compensation, on a macro level, with regards to women’s soccer versus men’s soccer,” Nichols said. Asked if the men are being paid more, Nichols said, “Yes. It’s substantially more than the women are paid.”

Attempts to reach players for comment through their representatives last week were unsuccessful, and most players-side sources requested anonymity, saying they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

But Rob Raju, president of Axiom Sports & Entertainment, which has represented 18 U.S. women’s national team members since 2000, said the dispute is now about the women standing up for themselves.

“Overall, this isn’t just about marketing, this is about taking a stance,” Raju said. “This is about taking a stance towards achieving gender equity in the women’s game versus the men’s game. The treatment of players should be equal, across the board.”


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