Steelers players vote to decertify

[SteelersinCA]

Originally Posted by steelax04

I think what it's about is that if the players union would try and sue the owners on anti-trust grounds, it would be like the pot calling the kettle black... if they decertify, it gives the players the ability to sue the owners on their own.

SteelersinCA would probably be able to explain it better... and I could be way off base.

I'm not real sure what decertification would do for the players. I know they are hoping it prevents them from being locked out in the event a new CBA isn't in place, but their recourse for being locked out is to sue individually which would take years. I think we all know this thing won't take years or the NFL is dead. I'm not really sure what they hope to gain. Going through the court system isn't the smartest idea since it's so slow.

Let's just hope they get it worked out. It is NEVER good when you need to talk to a lawyer.

[fer522]

fire Arians. its his fault too.

[lionslicer]

So players want to disband the union so they can sue the NFL if their is a lockout next year? So this is about money? lol

[kirklandrules]

Hmmm, not sure this is about individual lawsuites filed by the players. The NFL used the argument that the players were unionized to avoid anti-trust laws. If the players are no longer unionized, the NFL can no long claim they are within those anti-trust laws. Now you have the federal gov't pushing the league to measures that demonstrate a level playing field for the players to negotiate with the league. So the league will have to determine which is worse for their business: the gov't or the union. Personally, I'd rather negotiate with the NFLPA than with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank and the Obama administration.

[SteelersinCA]

Originally Posted by kirklandrules

Hmmm, not sure this is about individual lawsuites filed by the players. The NFL used the argument that the players were unionized to avoid anti-trust laws. If the players are no longer unionized, the NFL can no long claim they are within those anti-trust laws. Now you have the federal gov't pushing the league to measures that demonstrate a level playing field for the players to negotiate with the league. So the league will have to determine which is worse for their business: the gov't or the union. Personally, I'd rather negotiate with the NFLPA than with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank and the Obama administration.

It's not necessarily about individual lawsuits, they want to decertify thinking that will avoid a lockout. If the owners still lockout, their only recourse is individual lawsuits.