The CFL player has rejected a new collective bargaining agreement with the league.
CFL players have voted against ratification of the interim agreement on Wednesday between the league and the CFL Players Association, sources said. Neither the CFL nor the CFL Players Association confirmed the vote immediately, so sources spoke anonymously on Monday.
However, in a note to the membership late Monday night, the union wrote that there was not enough support from the contracted players.
“Currently, we don’t have enough support from the CFLPA membership to approve the latest offer from the CFL,” the memo said. “CFLPA has contacted the league and said that if the league is ready to resolve open issues quickly, a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) can be achieved.
“In the review and discussion of the offer, all CFLPA members maintained a negotiating committee. Many components of the current offer are in line with the direction provided by membership, but resolved to achieve it. There are still important open items that must be resolved. It’s a fair deal. “
However, the timing of the refusal was a bit surprising given that one team (Edmonton Elks, according to another source) had not completed voting for the deal. It was supposed to happen late Monday night.
The CFL and CFLPA reached a tentative seven-year agreement on Wednesday, four days after players from seven of the nine teams in the league went on strike. This was the second time in league history and the first outage since 1974.
CFLPA executives have recommended approval of transactions featuring a CFL salary cap ($ 100,000 a year starting next year) and a minimum salary increase ($ 65,000 to $ 75,000 by 2027). It also includes a union revenue sharing scheme, giving players the opportunity to guarantee up to 50 percent of the final year of the contract.
The CBA also wanted to return to padded practice, which was up to 12 hours a week during the regular season, but retired players’ medical insurance was extended from 3 to 5 years. it was done.
The deal also called for increasing the number of Canadian starters from seven to eight, which was nationalized Canadians, the United States, who spent five years at the CFL, or at least three years on the same team. Includes people. In addition, the other three nationalized Canadians were able to play up to 49 percent of all snaps on both sides of the ball.
And it has plagued many current Canadian players to the point where there were legitimate concerns about whether the CBA would be ratified. The refusal of the agreement only creates more uncertainty in the exhibition season (corrected due to the previous outage), which is scheduled to start with two games on Friday night.
The regular season is scheduled to start on June 9th.
“All CFLPA members show that they are keen to reach a fair agreement as soon as possible so that players can work and fans and partners can bet on celebrating the game,” the union said. The memo states. “This allows the CFLPA Negotiations Committee to already inform the CFL which items in the package need to be further negotiated in order to satisfy membership and proceed with discussions as efficiently as possible. “
What’s unclear so far is what’s next, and whether the player will return to strike soon, or will he continue to practice under the previous CBA while the union and league return to the negotiating table, or will be locked out by the league. Is that? However, in the memo, it was clear that the CFLPA negotiation unit remained intact even though the player refused the agreement to approve the membership.
Gray Cup Champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers will practice normally on Tuesday and expect players to participate, based on communication with the club’s PA personnel.
And Hamilton Tiger-Cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence suggested on social media that he’ll be back on Tuesday.
“I work at Tomlo!” He wrote on Twitter on Monday night.
Earlier on Monday, before the news that the CBA was rejected, CFLPA executive member Henoc Muamba said he would be unsatisfied with the majority of union members while the tentative agreement was upheld. A table of negotiations on their behalf.
“Because I am the representative of the team and the vice president (of the union), I try to improve the atmosphere of the room,” said Moambe. “I’ve had great conversations with lots of people over the last few days.
“The most difficult thing for the committee is to be able to represent, but I also want to give the guys in the locker room a good feel. You have good communication with them. So you can express them as best as you can. If things change, listen. You need to be able to make adjustments on the fly. “
Moambe joined the CFLPA hierarchy in Montreal on Friday to discuss deals with players. Moambe is not only a former Alouette, but speaks both official languages.
The visit came after Chris Ackie, the Canadian linebacker Alouette’s player representative, suggested that the agreement could be rejected.
Toronto was one of the seven teams that started their training camp on Thursday. Edmonton and Calgary reported on the start on May 15 because they were not in a legal strike position at the time. Prior to the news that the contract was rejected, Moambe said that if that was the case, the union would begin negotiations on the contract, supported by the knowledge that most members wanted it.
“The Commission finds it more comfortable to move forward, knowing that they have the strength and confidence of the membership behind them,” he said.
Dan Ralph
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