CHICAGO: As part of ongoing negotiations with the United States Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) and the United States National Soccer Team Players Association (USNSTPA), the US Soccer Federation Tuesday offered identical contract proposals to each players association, with the goal of aligning the men’s and women’s senior national teams under a single collective bargaining agreement (CBA) structure.
The unions for the men and women are separate. Under federal labor law, they have no obligation to bargain jointly or to agree to similar terms, AP reports. The men’s contract expired in December 2018. The women’s agreement runs through this December.
The newswire further reports that items currently in the women’s contract, such as pay for players in the National Women’s Soccer League and maternity and pregnancy leave and pay, would not necessarily be dropped from USSF proposals, the federation said.
Players led by Alex Morgan sued the USSF in March 2019, contending they have not been paid equitably under their collective bargaining agreement compared to what the men’s team receives under its agreement.
Part of a statement released by the governing body for soccer in the US reads: “US Soccer firmly believes that the best path forward for all involved, and for the future of the sport in the United States, is a single pay structure for both senior national teams. This proposal will ensure that USWNT and USMNT players remain among the highest paid senior national team players in the world, while providing a revenue sharing structure that would allow all parties to begin anew and share collectively in the opportunity that combined investment in the future of U.S. Soccer will deliver over the course of a new CBA.
“Additionally, US Soccer has once again called upon the players and both players associations to join the federation in finding a way to equalize FIFA World Cup prize money between the USMNT and the USWNT. US Soccer will not agree to any collective bargaining agreement that does not take the important step of equalizing FIFA World Cup prize money.
“US Soccer believes that the best way to achieve these important goals is by the women’s and men’s players associations coming together to negotiate one contract. However, if the players associations choose to continue to negotiate separately as they have to date, US Soccer will invite the USWNTPA to sit in on the negotiations with the USNSTPA and vice versa, in the interest of full transparency.
“US Soccer remains eager, ready and willing to meet with both players associations and the players as soon as possible and as often as needed, either separately or together, to get a deal done and focus on the future of soccer.”
