The NBA and NBPA will meet with a federal mediator next week in an effort to help end the lockout. Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service Director George Cohen said in a statement he will meet with both sides on Oct. 18 in N.Y. "For a number of months I have participated in separate, informal, off-the-record discussions with the principals representing the NBA and the NBPA concerning the status of their collective bargaining negotiations,” Cohen said in a statement. He added, "It is evident that the ongoing dispute will result in a serious impact, not only upon the parties directly involved, but also, of major concern, on interstate commerce" (John Lombardo, SportsBusiness Journal).
It is "expected that the FMCS will meet individually with representatives from both sides as early as Monday" in N.Y., and then both parties "will be brought together for a mediation session at Cohen's office" in DC (NEWSDAY, 10/13). The mediation is "nonbinding, and Cohen has no authority to push the sides toward an agreement" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/13).
