The NHL's 2005 lockout offers a warning MLB can't ignore

"The word "lockout" is enough to give PTSD to us hockey fans. It's what baseball fans are almost expecting after this season as Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement with it's players will expire in December of this year. This all got a bit more complicated as the Major League Baseball Players Association saw its executive director Tony Clark resign on Tuesday. Poised to replace him (though an official move has yet to be made) is the union's deputy executive director Bruce Meyer. If that name sounds more than slightly familiar, it might be because Meyer previously worked as senior director of collective bargaining, policy and legal with the NHL Players Association starting in 2016. He left to take his current position with the MLBPA in 2022."

"Having union officials go between league players association is nothing new. Donald Fehr was at the helm of the MLBPA during their infamous lockout that cancelled the 1994 World Series as well as the NHL's 2012-2013 lockout that effectively cut that season almost in half. The NHLPA took a different turn by hiring former Boston mayor and United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh in February 2023."

"Another similarity is that the MLB is facing potentially the same problem that the NHL faced during that cancelled season: the implementation of a salary cap. Talk about "market conditions" for different NHL teams usually centers around having Canadian and American markets, although there is a good bit of parity. Meanwhile the MLB sees some teams spend like drunken sailors while other teams with frugal owners spend as little as possible."

Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement with its players expires in December, creating lockout concerns. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark resigned and deputy executive director Bruce Meyer is poised to replace him. Meyer previously worked in NHL player union collective bargaining, policy, and legal roles before joining the MLBPA in 2022. Union leaders have crossed between leagues before, including Donald Fehr, who led major lockouts, and the NHLPA hired Marty Walsh in February 2023. MLB faces debate over implementing a salary cap amid sharp spending disparities between high- and low-spending teams, worsening market imbalance by 2026.

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