Updated: NFLPA Planning To Decertify Thursday
Seven days of mediated negotiations might not have been enough to come up with a new collective bargaining agreement for the NFL. There is less than a week before the current agreement expires.
Josh Katzowitz of CBSSports reported that the NFLPA plans to decertify before the current CBA expires. If they don't, the players union would have to wait six months to decertify if they chose to after the expiration date. With the CBA expiring Friday, March 4, the NFLPA would wait until Thursday to exercise that option.
The move would preempt the owners' ability to lockout the players. This is only a plan if no progress is made before hand.
Decertification means the NFLPA would no longer be a union. The National Labor Relations Board would hold no sway over the NFL players. Since the idea has been mentioned during the NFL season, Owners have been planning to challenge the decertification. Players had voted to decertify throughout the season also.
By making this move, players can file an injunction to keep the owners from locking them out and an anti-trust lawsuit against them.
CBSSports is also reporting that the NFLPA and players will meet during the week at the union headquarters in Washington D.C. Players are gathering for sort of a family. If the final meetings fail to produce a new agreement, players will be able to speak to the media.
