So with the NBA strike you start to wonder, who is really losing money on this deal? I think the players are losing a little, the owners are losing a little more (but they are trying to make a point, so they are to blame for this one), but as pointed out in the short from PBS, it is the small businesses that rely on having a team around that are really losing money.
When the hockey strike happened, I wondered what the point was, and with this strike I really wonder what the point of it is? I realize the players want to keep their rights, the owners want to make money, but between the two groups they are making Billions of dollars (total) off playing a game, can they not just figure that out and go back to it? Yes, I am nowhere near talented enough to even clean the floors at an NBA game, but as a consumer of their product (well I was when I was younger, not so much any more) I really have to wonder what exactly is the point that is being made here?
Get back to playing, and figure out who gets the millions off the court guys.
“…but I remember one of the demands was opening up the books to the players and the owners saying “you are our employees, we don’t have to.†I completely agreed with them.”
The problem is when the employer wants to use a formula based on gross revenue and or profit to determine pay, they open themselves up to questions of whether what they say and what their books say is the same or not.
If you worked for an employer that had a profit sharing plan but you never got anything because the owner said there were no profits, would you believe him? What was it Reagan said? “trust but verify”
I haven’t followed the NBA strike like I did the NFL but in that case it was both sides trying to fight for a little that equaled A LOT of money…but I remember one of the demands was opening up the books to the players and the owners saying “you are our employees, we don’t have to.” I completely agreed with them.
The worst part of this strike is the small businesses affected by the strike have absolutely no say in the negotiations. In Los Angeles, there are layoffs at the restaurants that are near the Staples Center. I realize the businesses do pretty well during the season, but the employees do not make that much more during the season to compensate for losing their job.
That is correct, and those same employees now get laid off, due to the Millionaires disagreeing… nice..