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Federal mediator to resolve NBA row
Source: Agencies |
October 14, 2011, Friday
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THE National Basketball Association and its locked-out players will use the same federal mediator who tried to resolve the National Football League's labor dispute months before it eventually ended.
George Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, announced on Wednesday that he will oversee negotiations between the NBA and the NBA Players Association. Those meetings will start next Tuesday in New York.
Cohen said he already has been in contact with representatives of both sides "for a number of months."
"I have participated in separate, informal, off-the-record discussions with the principals representing the NBA and the NBPA concerning the status of their collective bargaining negotiations," Cohen said in a statement.
Players sued
Cohen was present for talks between NFL owners and players for 16 days in February and March but couldn't bring them to an agreement. When that mediation broke off on March 11, the union disbanded, players sued owners in federal court, and the league locked out players.
After talks resumed later - including with a different, court-appointed mediator - a new NFL collective bargaining agreement was completed and signed in August.
The NBA's labor talks stalled on Monday, and the league announced it was calling off the first two weeks of its regular season, which was supposed to begin on November 1. The preseason was wiped out earlier.
Cohen was appointed director of the FMCS, an independent US government agency, in 2009. The next year, he helped broker a deal between Major League Soccer and its players just before the season was set to begin.
George Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, announced on Wednesday that he will oversee negotiations between the NBA and the NBA Players Association. Those meetings will start next Tuesday in New York.
Cohen said he already has been in contact with representatives of both sides "for a number of months."
"I have participated in separate, informal, off-the-record discussions with the principals representing the NBA and the NBPA concerning the status of their collective bargaining negotiations," Cohen said in a statement.
Players sued
Cohen was present for talks between NFL owners and players for 16 days in February and March but couldn't bring them to an agreement. When that mediation broke off on March 11, the union disbanded, players sued owners in federal court, and the league locked out players.
After talks resumed later - including with a different, court-appointed mediator - a new NFL collective bargaining agreement was completed and signed in August.
The NBA's labor talks stalled on Monday, and the league announced it was calling off the first two weeks of its regular season, which was supposed to begin on November 1. The preseason was wiped out earlier.
Cohen was appointed director of the FMCS, an independent US government agency, in 2009. The next year, he helped broker a deal between Major League Soccer and its players just before the season was set to begin.
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