Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining in Sport

Abstract

This chapter begins with an overview and history of federal labor laws and their application in the professional sports industry including the unique interplay between antitrust laws and labor laws. This chapter examines the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act of 1914, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA), and the Taft Hartley Act of 1947 as well as a range of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) between professional sport teams and professional sport labor unions (players associations). In order to understand how professional sports leagues and teams function in the U.S., it is imperative sport managers understand the critical role labor law plays in creating and maintaining the relationships between management (the league) and the employees (the players). The chapter also delves into the seminal employee rights set forth in the NLRA including a right to join a union and engage in collective bargaining. Next, an examination of how those rights manifest themselves in determining professional athletes' wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment is included. Through this chapter, readers will gain a better understanding of the complexity of labor relations in the sport industry, including strikes, lockouts, what is an impasse, what are mandatory subjects of bargaining, how are player grievances handled, and how are salary arbitration and salary caps covered in a CBA.