TFC and Whitecaps glad to avoid MLS players strike

Members of Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps felt the usual excitement before the day before the start of a new Major League Soccer season Friday – but they were also relieved to have narrowly avoided a players strike.
“There were a number of times when we all thought that we weren’t going to be playing this weekend,” said TFC midfielder Michael Bradley.
The MLS players union and league agreed to a new collective agreement Wednesday after players prepare to vote on a work stoppage, enabling Saturday's season opener between TFC and the Whitecaps to go ahead.
“It’s been a long process – in every way – preparing our union, our group of players -- to be ready for what was going to transpire this last week,” said Bradley. “It has felt like an eternity. I was only in D.C. Monday and came back and was in Toronto with the group. Joe (Bendik) and Stevie (Caldwell) were there (in Washington) all week, and I can only imagine how long it felt for them.”
Highlights of the deal include an elevated minimum salary and unrestricted free agency for players based on age and number of seasons played in MLS Bradley indicated that neither players nor owners came away from the bargaining table happy with the new deal.
“There’s a lot that goes into it from every angle – the players, the league, to the owners,” he said. “And in the end, I feel that there probably isn’t anybody that thinks it’s a perfect deal on any side. But at the end of the day, it still is a deal that allows for football to be played and for the league to continue to grow. And, at the end of the day, that’s what matters most. The fans are the real winners.”
Caldwell said the negotiations were very difficult and intense. MLS has numerous restrictions on salary, designated player status and playing rights. For example, players who are released can go back into a draft and be picked up by another team.
“(The CBA in MLS) is so alien to the guys that it’s hard for them to wrap their heads around,” said Caldwell. “It’s a completely different experience playing here with it being a similar league, and having the difficulties that we have, to try and increase salary caps and minimums – and allow players to choose where they play football for fair market value. And that’s been a difficult process for everybody concerned, and that includes the MLS and the clubs.”
The new deal means that MLS will begin in its 20th season on time, and labour negotiations players and owners will probably never be the same.
“It seems they wanted to avoid a work stoppage, which we’re pleased to say that we have,” said Caldwell. “It would not have been a good experience for everybody involved, but we were willing to undertake that, if we had to, to get to an agreement which was acceptable.”