Crew players and coaches will travel to Florida as the
league and union continue to negotiate over a new
collective bargaining agreement.
(photo by Matt Bernhardt)
The Columbus Crew's upcoming trip to Florida for preseason training looms large for several reasons, but at least now it will happen at all. Major League Soccer and the players' union announced late last night that they will continue labor negotiations for another 12 days; enough time for the Crew to complete almost all of its upcoming trip to Bradenton.
Preseason training is important for any club, but the stakes for the Crew are higher than ever this year. The 2010 league season begins in Columbus on Saturday, March 27th, but the first competitive match will be played on Tuesday, March 9th. That game, a quarterfinal matchup in the CONCACAF Champions League, will see the Crew face off against Mexican power Toluca - who began their 2010 season on January 16th. The Red Devils will have played 9 competitive games before travelling to Columbus, putting pressure on the Crew to not lose any preparation time due to labor difficulties.
The current collective bargaining agreement between MLS and the union is set to expire on January 31st. While almost no official announcements have been made by either side, published reports have indicated that the two sides have been holding marathon meetings this week. With both sides keeping silent it is difficult to know what issues have been resolved, but the sticking points are thought to have revolved around issues such as the lack of guaranteed player contracts. Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad was quoted in an article on ESPN asking the rhetorical question:
"We're just saying this: If you're going to give a guy a contract for $34,000, can you turn it into a guarantee for $34,000?"
Asked for details about the negotiations on Tuesday, Crew technical director Brian Bliss stated that they had been given no updates, which played a role in the team setting their preseason trip to start after the current agreement expired. The team did not want to plan for contingencies such as a lockout or strike while in Florida.
With last night's announcement of a 12-day extension, the trip to Florida will take place. The threat of a mid-trip interruption does exist now, however, as the team originally announced a 14-day trip; leaving the final two days in question should the league and union prove unable to strike a deal by February 12th.
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