Upcoming Major League Soccer Talk Podcasts: Expert Opinion on Collective Bargaining

In a series podcasts to be released throughout the week, Major League Soccer Talk (subscribe) will be talking to three legal/business/sport experts, getting perspectives on collective bargaining in Major League Soccer and the United States’ sports landscape.

In the first podcast (to be released Tuesday or Wednesday), we will talk about the mechanics of collective bargaining, introducing everybody to the intricacies of the process (i.e., the practical differences between strike and lock-out).  Our guest will be Jeffrey Standen, a professor of law at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he teaches Sports Law.

In the second podcast, we will explore existing legal precedent and ask how those cases and concepts – litigated in the context of other labor battles – inform MLS’s bargaining.  This is where we’ll get into the arguments the players and owners bring to the table, asking Jeff Maxcy – a sports economist with training in business and labor relations – about the viability of the sides’ positions.

Finally, Major League Soccer Talk’s own Brian Zygo will join us to synthesize the information.  Brian – sports media member by night but trained lawyer by day – will bring an MLS-expert’s perspective to the legalities.

Before we start the interviews, Major League Soccer Talk wants to know which issues peak your curiosity.  Please use the comments section to submit your questions and opinion, which we will comb pre-interview and potentially pass-on to our experts.