Latest Labor Negotiations End Abruptly

NBA owners added an unexpected twist to the lockout--a walkout.

Commissioner David Stern and several owners abruptly left the labor talks Thursday in New York after hearing the players’ latest proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement--their first offer since April 1.

The meeting, attended by more than a dozen players and six owners, lasted about 90 minutes before the group broke for lunch. When talks resumed, the players spent about 15 minutes outlining a new proposal involving revenue sharing, a concession on the rookie salary scale and mandatory 10% raises.

The meeting ended when union attorney Jeffrey Kessler told the owners they stood a good chance of losing two cases before the National Labor Relations Board and arbitrator John Feerick.

“We came to negotiate, not to be lectured on legal proceedings and their ultimate outcome,” Stern said.

In their proposal of April 1, the players offered to slow future salary cap growth if the BRI number exceeded 63%.

But they deleted that formula from Thursday’s proposal, replacing it with a modification of the 20% raise rule. They also adjusted the three-year rookie wage scale to include a right-of-first-refusal for the fourth year, and proposed that teams pool local television revenue and split the money.

With no new talks scheduled, the next labor fight will come before Feerick.

The arbitrator would like to schedule a hearing next week on the union’s grievance on behalf of some 220 players with guaranteed contracts who are not being paid during the lockout.

The union also has filed an unfair labor complaint with the NLRB, charging the owners with illegally imposing a lockout.