Professor Charles Grantham in The New York Times on Leadership and the CBA in the NFL Players Association
Monday, January 27, 2020
Professor Charles Grantham, former executive director of the National Basketball Players Association and director of the Center for Sport Management in the Stillman School of Business, was featured in The New York Times.
The article, "Russell Okung Wants to Disrupt the N.F.L. Establishment," details the campaign by Russel Okung, an offensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers,
to become president of the N.F.L. Players Association and effect change through confrontation
to bring about what he believes would be a more equitable arrangement between players
and owners in the N.F.L.
The current collective bargaining agreement between N.F.L. players and owners is set
to expire after next season.
Ken Belsen writes,
Already a member of the executive committee of the N.F.L. Players Association, Okung
plans to run for union president to replace Eric Winston, who must step down in March
because he is no longer on an active roster. More broadly though, Okung’s life-changing
diagnosis has spurred him to want to create a far more aggressive union, to disrupt
the status quo and reverse what he sees as years of concessions, even if this leads
to a lockout or a strike when the collective bargaining agreement expires after next
season.
He wants to fight for a greater share of the league’s revenue, and redefine what owners
share with the players. He is seeking better health care and bigger pensions for retired
players. Okung said the union needs more power to audit the league’s finances and
a stronger arbitration system. He wants to overhaul the wage scale and even review
the current union structure.
As a principal negotiator, Charles Grantham helped to establish the NBA's four historic Collective Bargaining Agreements between 1980 and 1995 and was an architect of the industry's first revenue-sharing/salary cap business model—a multi-billion dollar labor contract.
Belsen writes,
Former union leaders applauded Okung for taking a long view. Charles Grantham, the
director of the Center for Sport Management at Seton Hall University and a longtime
executive at the National Basketball Players Association, said Okung entered the league
before the current deal was struck in 2011 and can see how the owners outmaneuvered
the players on several key issues, including extending the agreement to 10 years from
five.
"It's important that a veteran like Russell remind all players that the pressure by
management to sign a 10-year deal isn't something you necessarily need to do," Grantham
said. "He can see the bigger picture of where labor and management have been."
Reead the full article: "Russell Okung Wants to Disrupt the N.F.L. Establishment."
Categories: Business