Kelsey Plum e Breanna Stewarton Monday, wrote a three-page letter to Terri Jackson. The executive director of the women’s players union shared the letter with the executive committee Tuesday morning. In it, Plum e Stewart they expressed “serious concern about the way the PA is managing the current negotiations, including the lack of adequate involvement of female players in the process”.
In communication, Plum and Stewart asked “a change in the dynamics between the PA administrators and the players” and they claimed to “not feeling adequately represented at the negotiating table”.
The letter begins with Plum e Stewart that they express “immense gratitude” for the leadership of Jackson over the last ten years and for the results she has achieved in that time, adding that they believe she wants the best for the players.
“But we are frustrated that we haven’t made more progress as the March 10 deadline approaches.” they continue. “And we believe this is the result of a breakdown in communication between you, the Executive Committee and the players in general.”
Stewart e Plum they claim to have been “been aware of the details of these negotiations for less than two months, having first seen a proposal in January,” and having asked “repeatedly” information to the staff of PAbut without receiving them. “Despite a year and a half of negotiations, we have not been significantly involved” we read in the letter.
Example requests include: a detailed breakdown of the company’s expenses and income WNBA “to our best understanding”a comparative analysis between the potential losses that players would face if their season was delayed or shortened due to a strike and the potential gains achieved with a new CBA achieved through continuous negotiations, a clear description of how freshers’ salaries will be structured and how they will be deducted during the freshman contract, information on distributions by OneTeam Partners and a clear articulation of the roles and responsibilities of the executive committee.
“As we understand it, the role of the Executive Committee is to help define the overall objectives and priorities of the CBA and to act as a bridge between your negotiating team and the wider membership, ultimately helping to secure player approval of any agreement.” they wrote. “Without access to the information requested above, the Executive Committee cannot fulfill this role and players cannot be expected to meaningfully engage in a process from which they have been largely excluded.”
Stewart e Plum have requested an executive committee meeting by 24 oreto discuss the requested information. The two also expressed frustration with the way their concerns were received by the players’ association.
Breanna Stewart also stated that the role of Adam Silver in the negotiations it was not as significant as thought.
During theAll-Star Weekend from the NBA, Silver described the negotiations on the CBA as close to the “eleventh hour” and claimed to have been “very involved behind the scenes”. However, Stewart stated that Silver “He wasn’t there” to any of the trading sessions, whether in person or online Zoom.
“I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but we’ve never seen it.” he said Stewart.
The WNBAon Sunday evening, then presented a new collective agreement proposal to the players’ union, which provides for the possibility for some of the young stars to earn the maximum salary more quickly.
The new offer, which came two days after the union’s latest proposal, would allow players on rookie contracts who were selected to the first or second teamAll-League to become eligible to sign a max contract in their fourth year.
In the latest offer, the union asked teams to provide housing for all players in the first few years of the contract, but thereafter teams would not be required to provide it to players earning at least 75% of the maximum salary.
The WNBA had communicated to the union that it was necessary to reach an agreement by 10 March to start the season on time during a virtual collective bargaining agreement negotiation session held a week ago, a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press.
If the agreement is reached by 10 Marchwould likely be signed by the end of the month. According to this schedule, the expansion draft for the new franchises will be held between 1st and 6th April. Qualifying offers for free agents, including franchise player tagwould be sent on April 7 and 8. The teams would then have three days to negotiate with over the80% of free agent players. The signature period would then be from 12 to 18 April.
Training camps would open the next day and the season could begin the8 maggio.