Lockout 2012: Negotiations to Resume on Friday
By jer
Chris Johnston of the The Canadian Press is reporting that the league and Players’ Association will resume talks this coming Friday, September 28th. This will be the first formal meeting between the two sides since September 12th, prior to the league officially locking out the players.
September 12, 2012; New York, NY, USA; NHLPA executive director Don Fehr during a press conference at the 2012 NHLPA summer player meetings at the Marriott Marquis. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-US PRESSWIRE
According to Johnston:
"[Negotiations] are expected to focus on non-core economic issues, a departure from the approach taken in the final weeks before the lockout was enacted.The sides were unable to make much progress on economics — they were $1 billion apart on their most recent proposals — and have instead decided to work on other issues that will make up the agreement."
Yahoo! Sports blog Puck Daddy descirbes this type of negotiation focus best: “In other words: Let’s decide what color the shutters are before we decide on every other detail of the house.” It’s nice to get both sides at the table, but if they’re refusing to bring up the issues at the core of the labor dispute, what exactly can be accomplished?
What do you think? A step in the right direction, or another empty gesture that will allow each side to point fingers at the other?
Jer is ready to be able to write stories about anything other than the lockout. Follow him on Twitter @JerMeansWell.