National Public Radio, Morning Edition, December 15, 2004, Wednesday

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National Public Radio (NPR)

SHOW: Morning Edition 10:00 AM EST NPR

December 15, 2004 Wednesday



LENGTH: 493 words

HEADLINE: Entire NHL season may be wiped out because of labor dispute

ANCHORS: RENEE MONTAGNE

REPORTERS: TOM GOLDMAN

BODY:
RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
The National Hockey League has moved a step closer to becoming the first North American sport league to cancel an entire season because of a labor dispute. Yesterday in Toronto, hockey players and owners rejected each others' contract proposals and did not schedule any more bargaining sessions. The three-month-old lockout already has wiped out more than 400 games from the schedule. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.
TOM GOLDMAN reporting:
Hope--that's what hockey fans felt last Thursday when the players union offered a new proposal after three months of no negotiations. Anticipation--that's what many felt yesterday as National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman emerged from a three-and-a-half-hour bargaining session on that union proposal.
Mr. GARY BETTMAN (Commissioner, National Hockey League): Good afternoon. Today we formally responded to the union. We also made a counterproposal, and it was rejected by the Players' Association.
GOLDMAN: One can almost imagine the fans now slumping in their chairs, shaking their heads. For those who kept watching and listening to Bettman's news conference, they heard him praise last week's union offer, which included what both sides agree was a significant 24 percent immediate rollback on player salaries. But the rest of the proposal, said Bettman, didn't work.
Mr. BETTMAN: It is dramatic in its immediate short-term impact, but it is fatally flawed as a system going forward. Of that, I and our 30 clubs have absolutely no doubt.
GOLDMAN: Bettman and the owners say hockey's economic system is broken and needs to be rebuilt on the principle of cost certainty. Too much of the league's dwindling revenues go to player salaries, they say. Controlling those salaries and linking them directly to team revenues is the league's key demand. The union dismisses that as another attempt to put a cap on salaries. After rejecting the league's counterproposal on Tuesday, union head Bob Goodenow said, quote, "Gary Bettman remains fixated on the salary cap solution. As long as that's the case, there are going to be problems," end quote. In particular, potential problems for the union, says Richard Hurd, a professor of labor studies at Cornell University.
Professor RICHARD HURD (Cornell University): In other settings in the United States over the past 20 years when employers have taken this firm a stand, the ultimate objective often was to eliminate the union.
GOLDMAN: Professor Hurd says it's not clear the league is trying to do that in this case. What is clear is that the broken-down process now threatens to eliminate an entire hockey season, and many may not care. A recent poll in The Hockey News reportedly said only 56 percent of Americans knew about the lockout. Detroit forward Brendan Shanahan was quoted last week as saying, "It's been a real wake-up call. I have a lot of pride in my sport, and most people in the US haven't even noticed we're not playing." Tom Goldman, NPR News.