As the CFL Players’ Association prepares to hold another strike vote this weekend, there’s a chance the league may present a new offer to the membership on Friday, sources tell Sportsnet.
With the first exhibition game of the 2014 CFL pre-season scheduled to take place Monday in Winnipeg, sources tell Sportsnet the players are preparing to strike on Sunday following a new round of voting on Saturday.
Canadian labour laws vary by province. As a result, on Saturday the players’ will for the first time also be allowing rookies on its three Ontario-based teams and two Alberta clubs to cast a ballot even though they are not yet certified members of the union. It is believed the players are doing so in a pre-emptive move to counter any potential legal challenge the league may present to the legitimacy of a strike vote. In Alberta this weekend, all players on the Stampeders and Eskimos will be casting their first strike ballots. Alberta labour law requires that a strike vote can take place no sooner than seven days after the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement.
The most recent CBA between the CFL and the CFLPA expired May 30, but it’s been business as usual at training camps league-wide since they opened on June 1.
Talks between the two sides broke down last week. Earlier this week, the players’ presented a new offer to the league that has since been rejected. As of Friday, no further talks have been scheduled.
Sources tell Sportsnet that non-Alberta based players could take to the picket lines as early as Sunday, June 8 — the day before the Blue Bombers are scheduled to host the Toronto Argonauts in Winnipeg in the first exhibition game of 2014.
A league source told Sportsnet Thursday night that its organization has been told to prepare for the players to go strike as early as June 9. But all that may change should the league present a new offer before then. Last week, CFL commissioner Mark Cohon maintained that the CFL’s most recent proposal was its final one.
The two sides remain approximately $5 million apart — about $550,000, per team on the salary cap.
“There’s so much more to it than money,” a CFLPA source said. “Working conditions, player safety, times, the option year. There are a whack of issues outside of monetary stuff.”
Portions of the most recent league proposal have been obtained by Sportsnet. It reveals the CFL is requesting additional work hours in-season — at the coaches discretion — while adding to the maximum time allotted in “voluntary” mini-camps throughout the winter and spring. The players contend this would have a negative impact on their ability to pursue education and other work to supplement their football income.
The league proposal also continues to include the option-year in all contracts. The counter-offer from the CFLPA, which has been rejected, contended that only rookie contracts should include the option-year, effectively allowing veterans to sign one-year deals.
Further, the league is requesting three players be added to practice rosters, and that their pay be included in the salary cap. Tests in training camp physicals would also now include a 300-yard shuttle and a 225-pound bench press. The players rejected the latter proposal on the grounds that owners were not willing to provide salary protection in case of injury.
One intriguing element to the league’s proposal would be the addition of an extra playoff game, should the CFL ever expand to 10 teams.