M.L.B. Tells Union Games Will Be Lost Without a Deal Soon
The New York Times
The league said it would begin canceling games if a collective bargaining agreement was not reached by Monday. The sides are negotiating this week in Florida.
JUPITER, Fla. — With the scheduled start of the 2022 regular season approaching and little progress made toward a new collective bargaining agreement despite face-to-face negotiations this week, Major League Baseball reiterated its position — and its threat — to the players’ union on Wednesday.
M.L.B. told the union during talks here that it was serious about its stated deadline of striking a labor deal by Feb. 28, that it would begin canceling games if it was not met, and that it would not pay players for those missed games, said a league spokesman who spoke to reporters on the condition that he not be named. Missed games would not be rescheduled, he said.
A union official, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the negotiations, confirmed that M.L.B. relayed this ultimatum during talks on Wednesday.
