The Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), the union representing officials working in the MLS, NWSL and USL, rejected a proposed new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) presented by the union's executive board and negotiated with professional referees. Organization (PRO), employer of referees.
About 98% of union members participated in the vote, and 95.8% voted to reject ratification. The vote took place on Thursday and Friday, and in response, the PRO now says it will block referees starting at midnight ET on Saturday and begin the season with replacement referees.
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The MLS regular season is scheduled to begin on Wednesday when Inter Miami takes on Real Salt Lake.
“The rapid growth of MLS has significantly increased the mental and physical demands on officials and, as such, increased demands on both our professional and personal time,” said Peter Manikowski, president and chief negotiator of the PSRA, in a Press release.
“Our members are asking not only for fair compensation at a time when the league is seeing record growth, but also for the ability to take care of themselves on the road and at home to continue officiating at the highest level the sport demands.
“Feedback from our members indicates that the failed ratification was due to issues with the compensation and benefits PRO offered, as well as a lack of improvements to travel, schedules, and other quality of life issues.”
PRO general manager Mark Geiger said in a statement: “We have made significant progress during recent negotiations, agreeing to fair pay increases and addressing many of the PSRA’s concerns regarding non-economic elements.
“This represented approximately a 25% overall increase over 2023 when comparing salaries, advances, game fees and benefits plus the addition of business class travel for the MLS Cup playoffs. The result of the member vote is disappointing”.
A PRO spokesperson told ESPN that the organization had offered the PSRA a no-strike, no-lockout agreement as a means to continue negotiations, but that was also rejected by the PSRA. Manikowski responded by saying that the no-strike/no-lockout offer was a “poison pill” for union members and was accompanied, among other things, by a demand that the PSRA not accept raises by 2024.
PSRA members voted to authorize a possible counterattack on January 22.
Geiger said the rejection of the no-strike/no-lockout proposal, along with the PSRA's public strike authorization, “has created a significant risk as the 2024 season begins. We are left with no choice but to institute a lockout.” and use a qualified non-negotiating unit. officials so that the games can go ahead as scheduled.”
In terms of where the PRO will draw its list of replacement referees, a source with knowledge of the PRO's thinking told ESPN that a total of 66 referees have been identified. Twenty-six of them can be designated as referee or assistant referee (AR), six as referee, AR or fourth official, 29 only as AR and five as fourth official or VAR assistant.
Of the potential referees, 11 have FIFA or professional experience in one of the top three divisions of other countries, including Brazil, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico and Poland. The source added that Geiger would step in as VAR, having worked for FIFA as a technical and VAR instructor at several tournaments, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The previous collective agreement between the PSRA and the PRO, which employs referees in North America, expired on January 15, but the PSRA and the PRO agreed to multiple extensions to continue operating under the terms of the old collective agreement. This allowed referees to attend training camps and some preseason games, as well as continue receiving benefits while negotiations continued.
The PSRA announced on February 14 that it had reached a tentative agreement with the PRO, raising hopes that an agreement would soon be ratified. But in an open letter to the refereeing community that same day, the PSRA said: “We will not speculate whether or not MLS referees will ratify this, but rest assured that we are planning ahead for all possible outcomes.”
According to a PRO spokesperson, the offer on the table contains an average increase in remuneration of around 25%. This includes a 10-33% increase for referees, a 75-104% increase for assistant referees and a 15-100% increase for video assistant referees. The agreement also called for annual increases in compensation of 3%, except for 2027, which would see a 7% increase. Manikowski limited himself to confirming that the offer contained remuneration increases for each category of referee.
In another sign that the two sides are still estranged, the PSRA has filed a second unfair labor practice charge against the PRO with the National Labor Relations Board. The filing, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, alleges that the PRO general manager sent a letter to union members on Feb. 9 indicating that if the tentative agreement was not approved, he would block officials and withdraw his existing proposal. and accept only substantially inferior terms.
The PSRA complaint maintains that this constitutes “regressive bargaining, violates [the PRO’s] obligation to negotiate in good faith and constitutes retaliation against PSRA members for engaging in protected activities.”
The first unfair labor practices file, dated January 5, alleged that the PRO called PSRA members individually, without a PSRA representative present, to discuss negotiation proposals. This is called “direct treatment” in labor law language and is a violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
The last time the PRO blocked arbitrators over collective bargaining talks was in 2014, which lasted two weeks before reaching an agreement on March 19 of that year.
“This game evolves quickly and the game happens quickly,” Manikowski said. “We believe that replacement officers generally do not have the current experience or skill level necessary to perform our job.
“The sport and everyone involved (players, coaches and fans) deserve referees who are the best in North America at knowing the game of MLS and its current rules and applications.”
