Member Article

U.S. Soccer files lawsuit vs. USWNT’s Players Association

The United States Women’s National team are taking on their union in court. The players are not happy with the team’s agreement for collective bargaining. The agreement between the two expired back in 2012, but no changes to the terms have been made since. The U.S. soccer players hope that they can make alterations to the document and are willing to take it all the way through the court system to get what they want.

The U.S. players are not seeking any compensation through penalties and fine. They simply want “declaratory relief” and hope the action will mean that the Union signs a new agreement that is modified to protect the players better.

The U.S. soccer team did not want to bring the action forward against their union but felt they had no other choice. It all escalated when Richard Nichols the Union executive director made threats to repudiate the contract along with it’s no strike clause.

In response to the legal action Nichols rejected the U.S. soccer’s accusations. He stated that “There were no threats of strikes or work stoppages.” He went on to say that the players were merely protecting their legal rights.

It seems like the disagreement between the two parties about the collective bargaining agreement is going to go on for some time. Both sides are not backing down, and it will be down to the courts to decide who is to the right. Some fans have even put a bookmaker bonus free bet on the outcome of the case, hoping to make a quick buck.

The U.S. Soccer released a statement to clarify the situation. They stated that “We are confident the court will confirm the existence and validity of the current C.B.A., which has been in effect since U.S. Soccer and the Women’s National Team Players Association reached agreement almost three years ago. While unfortunate, we believe taking this action provides the parties with the most efficient path to a resolution.”

The lawsuit will decide if the C.B.A is valid or not. The court will need to determine if the agreement that expired back in 2012 is still in effect. The U.S. Soccer are arguing that it is still active since the players signed a new memorandum in 2013 that is valid until the end of 2016.

It was meant to be a year of celebration for the USWNT. Women’s soccer in the U.S. is extremely popular and with the team winning the World Cup it was supposed to help it grow even further. They were big free bet favorites to win the tournament and manage to live up to that tag. It is the first time they have managed to do this since 1999. To honour this achievement, a parade was organized in New York where thousands of fans cheered on their heroes.

A ten game tour was also arranged as part of the celebrations. The players were not happy though as many of the grounds they had to play on were made of artificial turf. Previously the footballers had tried to take legal action against FIFA to try to make all the game in the world cup played on grass.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Hawthorne .