NFL labor issues

The NFLPA is passing out cards to players setting the stage to request a vote on decertifying the union as the collective bargaining representative of the players. Rumor has it the Saints have unanimously voted for decertification. It is most unusual for a labor organization to seek to destroy its right to bargain for a group of employees it represents. But in this case NFLPA seems to think decertification is a defense against a potential lockout by owners when the current collective bargaining agreement expires in March. More after the jump.
There is a federal anti-trust exemption woven into enforcement under the National Labor Relations Act. Essentially this would permit ownership to act concertedly to lockout the players under the guise that the lock out is condoned by the NLRA. But in the absence of collective bargaining obligations, the players (or more accurately their legal representatives) believe the owners could not lock them all out. This makes for a very interesting labor law issue, and is the third involving the NFL in the past year.

The first labor law issue is the Minnesota case involving Star Caps and a Minnesota state statute protecting employees from discipline as a result of off-duty conduct. Our previous posts are here and here.

The second is the issue arising in the American Needle case, previously blogged about here. In American Needle in which a unanimous Supreme Court found the NFL's various teams were not a single entity for purposes of anti-trust analysis.

Saint's quarterback Drew Brees is an outspoken member of the NFLPA Executive Committee.