Tuesday, February 01, 2011

AFL-CIO is Getting Involved

DeMaurice Smith said from Day 1 on the job that he planned to learn from and connect with other unions.  This very idea created some consternation amongst some of the idiots out there (which I discussed back in September).  


Now we are beginning to see what it will look like, and it sure looks like the AFL-CIO knows how to deliver the message.


Here's the money quote from the email I received (along with hundreds of thousands/millions of other people, of course) from the AFL-CIO's Working America.  As a much, it is hard to have more clarity than this one does.  Greed vs. Disabilities.  It is the frame of the argument that needs to be out there.  

Why are the NFL owners preparing to lock out their own players and devastate fans? One word: Greed.


The owners want to ditch a labor agreement that has been making them millions in profits. They're demanding that players accept cuts in wages and benefits, including taking away health care benefits from players and their families.
Players risk long-term disabilities and death for their teams. An average football player's career lasts only three and a half seasons—but the injuries they face on the job aren't short-lived. It's a violent sport and the intense physical trauma impacts a player for the rest of his life. It's only fair that NFL owners pick up the tab for health care to treat those injuries.

1 comment:

Andrew Wice said...

Well it's a better start. The owners took away health care as a negotiating chip.

The resistance should make it the crux of their moral argument but not their demands.