What
is the National Basketball Players Association?
I know that the NBPA
is a union. What does that mean?
What is the grievance
procedure?
What is a player representative?
Who is each team’s
player representatives?
What is the Executive
Committee and who sits on it?
Who negotiates the
collective bargaining agreement?
What kind of say do
players get in the collective bargaining agreement?
How democratic is
the NBPA?
Where is the NBPA
office located?
What
is the National Basketball Players Association?
In 1954, NBA players had no pension plan,
no free agency, no per diem, no health benefits,
no minimum salary, and the average annual salary
was $8,000. That year, a group of all-star players
began to organize the players and later formed
the NBPA – the NLRB-certified labor union
representing all NBA players.
Since then, there have been dramatic changes and
every player through the years has achieved benefits
that never would have been available without the
NBPA.
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I
know that the NBPA is a union. What does that
mean?
A union is formed when a majority of employees
decide to bargain collectively to try to improve
wages, benefits and working conditions. Because
it is a professional sports union, the NBPA addresses
all of the issues typically dealt with by traditional
labor unions, just as, for example, the United
Auto Workers or the United Federation of Teachers
would do to benefit their members.
We also, however, assist players in a number of
other significant areas. Thus, once a collective
bargaining agreement is signed, the NBPA focuses
on, among other things, ensuring that players
(and their agents) understand the collective bargaining
agreement so that they can maximize their opportunities
under the technical rules of the agreement. The
union then represents the players in grievances
to enforce their rights under the agreement or
to challenge discipline that it believes is unfair.
In addition to its role in the collective bargaining
process, the NBPA also administers the players’
group licensing payments, provides various player
programs and helps administer various benefits
programs.
The union helps any player who has virtually any
type of problem or dispute with management, (i.e.,
the NBA and/or his team), often through the grievance
procedure.
We also regulate all player agents.
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What is
the grievance procedure?
The grievance procedure is the mechanism through
which conflicts between players and management
get resolved. Basically, it works as follows:
- A player has been fined or suspended
and he thinks the discipline is unfair, extensive
or unwarranted; Or,
- The player's team or the league
has taken some action that he disagrees with,
either involving his contract, negotiations
for a new contract, or any other aspect of his
employment.
He then either tells his player representative, or calls the union office directly.
The union staff then contacts the team or league
and attempts to resolve the problem. If it cannot
be resolved at that level, then, in many cases,
the issue is brought before a neutral arbitrator.
We represent the player at the arbitration hearing
at no cost.
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What
is a player representative?
A player representative is like a congressman:
he votes on policy issues, and can also serve
as a liaison between the union and his teammates,
often communicating messages and news from the
union.
The player representatives should notify the union
staff of problems or any potential abuses of players
by the teams, league management or agents. He
is elected by his teammates to serve for a one-year
term.
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Who
is each team’s player representative?
Delete following sentence :In this package of
materials, we have enclosed a list of this season’s
player representatives for each team.
During training camp, each team will conduct an
election to determine its player representative.
A full list of current reps can be found elsewhere
on this site.
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What is the Executive Committee and
who sits on it?
The Executive Committee consists of nine players,
elected to a term of a period of years by the
player representatives to make certain decisions
in the operations of the union.
The Committee consists of a President, First Vice
President, six Vice Presidents and a Secretary-Treasurer.
Derek Fisher is the First Vice President, and
Pat Garrity serves as Secretary-Treasurer. The
Vice Presidents are P.J. Brown, Adonal Foyle,
Juwan Howard, Shaquille O'Neal, Theo Ratliff,
and Eric Snow. Delete the following sentence:
The players who currently hold these positions
are listed within this document. Past Presidents
include Patrick Ewing, Alex English, Buck Williams,
Bob Lanier, Isiah Thomas, Oscar Robertson, Tom
Heinsohn, Junior Bridgeman, and most recently
Michael Curry.
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Who negotiates the
collective bargaining agreement?
The NBA and the NBPA negotiate the collective
bargaining agreement. The NBA’s representatives
(the commissioner, the deputy commissioner, various
owners, the NBA’s attorneys and financial
experts) attempt to get the best deal possible
for the owners.
On the other side, the NBPA’s executive
director, player representatives, including the
Executive Committee, a negotiating committee (comprised
of NBA players representing all levels of income
and seniority within the league), and the NBPA’s
staff represent the players.
Our goal is simple - to get the best deal possible
for all players.
A new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated
approximately every six years. We welcome and
encourage all players to attend as many bargaining
sessions as possible.
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What kind of say do
players get in the collective bargaining agreement?
As a democratic organization, during bargaining,
we will frequently solicit all players’
viewpoint.
Regional Representatives (retired NBA players
employed by the NBPA) call all players at least
regularly (delete next three words) twice a month
during negotiations to solicit their opinion and
to apprise them of the status of negotiations.
We also encourage players to call whenever they
have questions and/or to make their opinion known.
The NBPA provides frequent written updates on
the status of negotiations and we will have team
and "all player" conference calls. All
NBA players are welcome and encouraged to attend
negotiation sessions.
Ultimately, all players vote on whether to accept
a collective bargaining agreement. The most recent
collective bargaining agreement was negotiated
following a six-month lockout in January 1999.
That agreement expired in June 2005, and was replaced
by a successor agreement agreed to in principle
on June 21, 2005.
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How democratic is
the NBPA?
It could not be more democratic.
A majority of players decide what they want in
the collective bargaining agreement.
A majority of players decide who their player
representatives will be.
A majority of players must vote to ratify the
collective bargaining agreement.
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Where is the NBPA
office located?
The NBPA office is located at 310 Lenox New York, NY 10027.
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