… More talks on today
(REUTERS)-Mediation talks between National Basketball Association (NBA) owners and players will spill into today after another marathon meeting failed to resolve the bitter labor dispute.
The two sides met for eight hours on Wednesday, following Tuesday’s 16-hour session with federal mediator George Cohen, leaving hope the parties might yet salvage the NBA season.
Today’s meeting would mark the first time the two sides had bargained for three consecutive days.
“Everyone is extremely focused on the core issues, the difficult issues that confront them. The discussions have been direct and constructive, and as far as we are concerned, we are here to continue to help assist the parties to endeavor to reach an agreement,” Cohen told NBA TV.
NBA Commissioner David Stern has identified this week’s mediation talks as a potential “make-or-break” for the league, with the pre-season and the first two weeks of the regular season already canceled.
The protracted dispute came to a head on July 1, when the league locked out players on July 1 after they failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.
Should no breakthrough be achieved this week, Stern could announce more cancelled games.
NBA owners contend the league lost $300 million last season with 22 of 30 teams in the red. They had wanted the players’ share of basketball-related income cut to 47 percent from the previous collective bargaining agreement, along with a firm salary cap and shorter contracts.
The players had offered to reduce their share from 57 to 53 percent.
Owners pushed back board meetings on Wednesday and Thursday to allow members of the labor relations committee to continue talks with the players, a move viewed as a sign that the dispute may be set to end.
“If there’s a breakthrough, it’s going to come (via mediation),” Stern told NBA TV. “And if not, I think that the season is really going to potentially escape from us, because we aren’t making any progress.”