The National Football League Players' Association, or NFLPA, is the labor union of players in football's National Football League. It was founded in 1956, but only achieved recognition and a collective bargaining agreement several years later. After a lost strike in 1987, the union was formally decertified, converting into a professional association in order to pursue antitrust litigation designed to win free agency for its members. When that tactic worked it reformed as a union and resumed collective bargaining with the league in 1993. A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... The National Football League (NFL) is the largest professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is the contract between the NHL and the NHLPA that defines the structure of procedural, financial, and disciplinary relationships between the NHL, its teams, and its players. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Labor Relations Board, an agency within the United States government, was created in 1935 as part of the National Labor Relations Act. ... Antitrust or competition laws are laws which seek to promote economic and business competition by prohibiting anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. ... Free agency can be: In Latter-day Saint theology, free agency is the name of the human capacity to make choices for themselves and to choose between right and wrong. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Formation and recognition

The union formed in 1956 when football players on the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns formed a union to demand that the clubs provide players with a minimum leaguewide salary and per diem pay, uniforms and equipment paid for and maintained at the clubs' expense and continued payment of their salaries while they were injured and unable to play. Don Shula of the Baltimore Colts, Frank Gifford of the New York Giants, and Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams led the organizing drive. After collecting authorization cards from a majority of the players, the association went to the owners' meeting to discuss their demands. The owners never met with them and never responded to any of their proposals. Note: Basketball teams from Chicago and Anderson once used the name Packers as well. ... City Cleveland, Ohio Other nicknames {{{nicknames}}} Team colors Brown, Orange, and White Head Coach Romeo Crennel Owner Randy Lerner General manager Phil Savage Fight song {{{song}}} Mascot CB, Chomps, TD, and Trapper Local radio Flagship stations: WMMS (100. ... Shula was the 1993 Sportsman of the Year Donald Francis Shula (born January 4, 1930 in Grand River, Ohio) is an American former professional football coach in the National Football League. ... There have been two unrelated American football teams called the Baltimore Colts based in Baltimore, Maryland. ... Frank Newton Gifford (born August 16, 1930 in Santa Monica, California) was an American football player and one of the better-known American sports commentators in the latter part of the 20th century who made the transition from an athlete to broadcasting. ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames Big Blue, G-Men Team colors Royal Blue, Red, Gray, and White Head Coach Tom Coughlin Owner Wellington Mara and Preston Robert Tisch (both now deceased) General manager Ernie Accorsi Fight song {{{song}}} Mascot {{{mascot}}} Local radio Flagship stations: WFAN (660 AM) Announcers... Norman Mack Norm Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983) was an American football player and coach. ... The St. ...

Unable to win their attention by organizing, the association threatened to bring an antitrust lawsuit against the league. That threat became much more credible when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Radovich v. National Football League, 352 U.S. 445 (1957), that the NFL did not enjoy the same antitrust immunity that Major League Baseball did. Rather than face another lawsuit, the owners granted most of the players' demands, but did not enter into a collective bargaining agreement with the association or formally recognize it as their exclusive bargaining representative. Antitrust or competition laws are laws which seek to promote economic and business competition by prohibiting anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in the world. ...

The players continued to use the threat of antitrust litigation over the next few years as a lever to win better benefits, including a pension and health insurance plan, and payment for exhibition games. The league did not formally recognize the NFLPA as the players' exclusive representative or enter into a contract with it, however, until 1968, after an abortive organizing drive led by Bernie Parrish of the Cleveland Browns backed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and a short lockout and strike. That contract was a weak one, largely due to the fact that the union representing members of the former American Football League, which had just merged with the NFL, had accepted these terms. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, commonly known as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) or simply the Teamsters, is one of the largest labor unions in the United States. ... A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. ... AFL logo The American Football League (AFL) was a professional league of American football that operated from 1960 to 1969. ...

Merger and progress

The NFLPA had chilly relations, at best, with its counterpart that represented AFL players. The NFLPA had attempted to block the merger of the two leagues in 1966, believing that the existence of a rival league gave individual players more bargaining power. After the two leagues merged, the two unions remained separate until 1970, when the AFL players, led by Jack Kemp of the Buffalo Bills, agreed to merge under the leadership of John Mackey of the Baltimore Colts. The employers continued, however, to treat the union lightly in negotiations, prompting the NFLPA to formally petition the National Labor Relations Board for union certification. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Jack French Kemp, Jr. ... City Buffalo, New York Other nicknames {{{nicknames}}} Team colors Dark Navy, Red, Royal, Nickel, and White Head Coach Dick Jauron Owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. ... John Mackey (born September 24, 1941, New York, New York) is a former American Football tight end who played for the Baltimore Colts and the San Diego Chargers. ... The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the United States Government charged with conducting elections for union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. ...

The newly merged union found itself in just as weak a position as it had been in before. While it won the right for players to bargain through their own agents with the clubs, improvements in pensions and impartial arbitration for injury grievances, it was unable to make much progress on its economic demands. The Association therefore returned to the tactic that it had used in the past: an antitrust lawsuit challenging the "Rozelle Rule", which barred players from moving to another team after their contracts expired. Arbitration is a form of mediation or conciliation, where the mediating party is given power by the disputant parties to settle the dispute by making a finding. ... Alvin Ray Pete Rozelle (March 1, 1926–December 6, 1996) was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. ...

While that litigation proved successful, the union found that making progress in bargaining was harder to achieve. It eliminated the Rozelle Rule in bargaining in 1977 and obtained improved benefits and grievance procedures, but had not achieved free agency or reached its goal of winning 55 percent of league revenues for players. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

The 1987 strike and decertification

The NFLPA struck for a month in 1987. On this occasion, however, the league chose to present games with replacement players, mostly those who had been cut in preseason, and a few veterans who crossed the picket lines. The television networks showcased these games as if these hastily assembled teams were the same quality as the veterans who were out on strike. Faced with cracks in its members' support and the willingness of the networks to broadcast the games, the union voted to go back to work on October 15, 1987. It filed a new antitrust suit that same day. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in Leap years). ...

The Court of Appeals ultimately rejected that suit on the ground that the labor exemption from antitrust liability protected the employers, even though the union was no longer party to a collective bargaining agreement that would have permitted the practices that the union was challenging. In response, the union formally disclaimed any interest in representing NFL players in collective bargaining and reformed itself as a professional organization in 1989. Having done that, the following year union members, led by Freeman McNeil of the New York Jets, brought a new antitrust action against the NFL challenging its free agency rules as an unlawful restraint of trade. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Freeman McNeil was a running back for the New York Jets (1981-1992). ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames {{{nicknames}}} Team colors Green and White Head Coach Eric Mangini Owner Robert Wood Johnson IV General manager Mike Tannenbaum Fight song {{{song}}} Mascot {{{mascot}}} Local radio Flagship stations: WABC (770 AM) and WEPN (1050 AM) Announcers: Marty Lyons and Bob Wischusen League/Conference...

The players ultimately prevailed, after a jury trial on their claims, in that action. That verdict, the pendency of other antitrust cases and the threat of a class action filed by Reggie White, then with the Philadelphia Eagles, on behalf of all NFL players brought the parties back to the negotiating table. They finally agreed on a formula that permitted free agency in return for salary caps tied to a formula based on players' share of total league revenues. In law, a class action is an equitable procedural device used in litigation for determining the rights of and remedies, if any, for large numbers of people whose cases involve common questions of law and fact. ... Reginald Howard Reggie White (December 19, 1961 – December 26, 2004), nicknamed the Minister of Defense — a dual reference to his football prowess and to his Evangelical Christian ordination — was one of footballs most prolific sackers in college, the USFL and the NFL. // Career Reggie White was born in Chattanooga... City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Other nicknames The Birds, The Iggles Team colors Midnight Green, Silver, Black, and White Head Coach Andy Reid Owner Jeffrey Lurie General manager Tom Heckert Fight song Fly, Eagles Fly Mascot Swoop Local radio Flagship stations: WYSP (94. ...

Returning to collective bargaining

That settlement was presented to and approved by the judge who had heard the McNeil antitrust case in 1993. Once the agreement was approved the NFLPA reconstituted itself as a labor union and entered into a new collective bargaining agreement with the league. The NFLPA and the league have extended their 1993 agreement four times, most recently through the 2007 season; in which there is no salary cap. Negotiations are underway to extend it through 2011. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2011 (MMXI) will be a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External references

NFLPA history (http://www.nflpa.org/AboutUs/main.asp?subPage=History)