NEW YORK \u2014 WNBA players have authorized their union\u2019s executive council to call a strike if necessary, the union announced Thursday as it continues to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the league.<\/p>\n
The WNBPA and league have been negotiating a new agreement for the past few months, extending the deadline a couple of times with the latest one set to expire Jan. 9. The move gives union negotiators another tool to use in talks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players\u2019 decision is an unavoidable response to the state of negotiations with the WNBA and its teams,\u201d the union said in a statement. \u201cTime and again, the players\u2019 thoughtful and reasonable approach has been met by the WNBA and its teams with a resistance to change and a recommitment to the draconian provisions that have unfairly restricted players for nearly three decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union said there was overwhelming support in the vote to allow the executive council to call for a strike when it sees fit. With 93 percent of players voting, 98 percent voted yes to authorize a strike if needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players\u2019 vote is neither a call for an immediate strike nor an intention to pursue one. Rather, it is an emphatic affirmation of the players\u2019 confidence in their leadership,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
Players and owners have been meeting regularly to negotiate. Increased salaries and revenue sharing are two big areas that the sides aren\u2019t close on.<\/p>\n
The league offered a max salary that would have guaranteed a $1 million base, with projected revenue sharing pushing total earnings for max players to more than $1.2 million in 2026, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Nov. 30 because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.<\/p>\n
Napheesa Collier, who is on the executive council, said in a Zoom earlier this week that players are also fighting for child care and retirement benefits. She acknowledged that revenue sharing remains the main issue, which is why other topics haven\u2019t been talked about as much.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s fatigue,\u201d Collier said. \u201cObviously, there\u2019s frustration in that both sides are trying to get what they want, but we still have that fire within us that we\u2019re willing to do what it takes. We\u2019re going to do whatever it takes to get what we think we deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark said at USA Basketball camp last week that this was the \u201cbiggest moment in the history\u201d of the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something that can be messed up,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to fight for everything we deserve, but at the same time we need to play basketball. That\u2019s what our fans crave. You want the product on the floor. In the end of the day that\u2019s how you\u2019re marketable, that\u2019s what the fans want to show up for.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2014 WNBA players have authorized their union\u2019s executive council to call a strike if necessary, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[13034,99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-356789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-celtics","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}