One of my favorite examples of today’s labor struggles is sports labor. Baseball has the strongest union and the highest paid athletes from rookies to stars. Basketball also has a strong union with players and owners sharing the gross revenues. Football, on the other hand, has a weak union and players can be cut without further pay each year. The working life span of the average NFL player is only a few years, and the average players make only a fraction of what the star players make.
Currently the Cleveland Browns quarterback is making $50M per year guaranteed, although this year he cannot play the first 11 games because he sexually assaulted 28 women. The Cleveland Browns Pro-Bowl (all-star) center does not have a contract this year. No team in the league will sign him. No one will say why, but he is president of the player’s union. It is not too difficult to connect the dots.
Labor Day honors and celebrates the struggles of labor to gain fair wages, healthy working conditions, limited work hours, along with insurance and retirement benefits. While we have come a long way, there is always room for improvement.
Jeff Bensch 