Fehr May Discuss Steroid Changes

In response to a request from Major League Baseball via a letter sent last week to Don Fehr, executive director of the players union, Fehr is expected to reply by Friday that he is receptive to “constructive dialogue” on the industry’s desire to strengthen the steroid testing program, a lawyer with connections to the union said Tuesday.

The letter to Fehr, and his imminent response, comes against the backdrop of possible action by Congress if baseball does not strengthen the testing program now included in the collective bargaining agreement . The Chicago Tribune, quoting anonymous sources, is also reporting today that Commissioner Bud Selig has asked lawyers to investigate his ability to strengthen the program unilaterally under his “best interests of baseball” authority if the union does not respond favorably to the request for talks on the subject.

However, management sources contacted by The Times downplayed that possibility despite Selig’s belief, one of those sources said, that the union has failed to “recognize the serious issues of health and integrity that are at stake and the need to improve the program sooner than later.”

In addition, the lawyer with connections to the union suggested that the possibility of Selig using the “best interest” provision was strictly a red herring because it does not give him the authority to abrogate the labor agreement and applies, in his reading, only to issues that are subject to the grievance procedure.

“This would certainly not fit that classification,” the lawyer said, “and it would certainly be challenged by the union. At any rate I would be surprised if he took a step that drastic before the union replies to the letter.”

The lawyer added that he was reluctant to characterize the response “because it has not been written yet,” but “Don made it clear in his testimony [during last week’s congressional hearing] that the union is willing to discuss just about any subject at any time.

“He also made it clear, however, that there’s a testing agreement in place, and I’m not sure any amount of discussion would prompt the union to cast that aside considering the compromise that went into it.”

He referred to the union’s concern that any testing program threatens privacy rights, a stance Fehr reiterated in his testimony to Congress and one he is likely to maintain in any attempt by the commissioner’s office to strengthen a program widely criticized for its lack of teeth.

It is Selig’s desire to implement the more comprehensive minor league program at the major league level. The minor league program calls for year-round testing and far tougher penalties, including a 15-day suspension without pay for the first offense, 30 days for the second and a full season for the third.

There is no formal re-opening provision in the labor agreement, but either side can make the request to discuss any provision without the other side’s being obligated to respond favorably to the request. In the event that discussions ensue and there is no agreement on revisions to the issue in question, labor law prevents the calling of a lockout or strike with a bargaining agreement in place. The current agreement does not expire until after the 2006 season.