NEW YORK (AP) — Both the WNBA and players' union feel progress is being made toward a new collective bargaining agreement, but they both say there's still work to be done to get a deal to the finish line.
In-person talks entered a seventh consecutive day Monday afternoon after the previous session ended around 3 a.m. in the morning.
“We’re working as hard as we can to get it done as quickly as possible,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said after the early morning negotiations finished. “It’s complex. There’s a lot. There’s a lot of system elements. There’s a lot of structure elements. ... This is a big, big league and we want to do everything we can for the players. So, we’re going to keep making progress.”
It’s been a long week of discussions with the WNBA and union meeting face-to-face for more than 75 hours since the first in-person bargaining session on Tuesday. None of the sessions have ended before midnight.
“We’re still working. We’re still fighting. There’s still some things that we have to — big issue things — that we have to get through," union executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said before Monday's session. "So, we’re just going to stick with it and stay with it.”
Jackson said there is agreement on some areas but there's still work to get done on big items.
Union counsel Deborah R. Willig was asked if she thought a deal could get done in the next day.
"For myself, I thought we were going to get this done yesterday, and I thought the day before so I would hope, but this has been an extraordinarily unusual set of labor negotiations, and I’ve been doing this for over 50 years,” the managing partner of Willig, Williams and Davidson said. “I think the why, frankly, is because the league underestimated seriously the resolve of the players and what they sought to achieve.”
The executive committee of players have been putting in the time alongside the union leadership throughout the negotiations. Committee members Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Brianna Turner and Alysha Clark were the first to leave at 2 a.m. Monday. Nneka Ogwumike and union leadership left an hour later after a 14-hour day.
“The fact that they just don’t want to stop, both sides, it’s not just the league side, it’s even the union," said Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti, who is on the labor relations committee. “They want to get it done. I think it’s admirable to know that they’re paying attention to the fact that this is crucial and time is of the essence and we need to have a season.”
The key sticking points have been revenue sharing and housing.
League proposals have involved net revenue — revenue after expenses — and union ones have talked about gross revenue — revenue before expenses. When negotiations first started more than a year ago, the union was asking for 40% of gross revenue and had come down to 26% before the marathon in-person bargaining session Tuesday. The league had been offering more than 70% net revenue for the players.
Teams have paid for player housing in the WNBA since the beginning and the league wanted to amend that in the new CBA.
“We're trying to enter into this transitional space where we are now making enough money to be able to take care of that, but we’re not quite at the point where we can eliminate it outright,” Ogwumike said.
If these two major items can get figured out, the season most likely would be able to start on time on May 8. But the clock is ticking. Engelbert said she didn't know if training camp would be moved from April 19 if a deal isn't done soon.
“I wish I knew the answer to that. I do not know the answer to that,” Engelbert said. “But you see us here at three in the morning, four in the morning, at five in the morning. So that gives an indication that both sides are motivated at that time.”
Jackson said the players understand what's ahead schedule wise.
“There’s a season schedule that has their own milestones. Right? Absolutely. We recognize that and we respect those,” Jackson said. “We also recognize that these are big time negotiations and so that there may be a need to adjust. Absolutely. And the players more importantly, recognize that, understand that, and are prepared for it as they always have been.”
The league's first two preseason games are on April 25 with Caitlin Clark and Indiana visiting New York and Seattle playing Golden State.
Before the preseason games even happen, there's a lot to do with an expansion draft for Portland and Toronto as well as free agency for 80% of the league. The college draft also needs to take place.
