USWNT finally ratifies new CBA with U.S. Soccer, ending bitter standoff
The United States women’s national team and U.S. Soccer announced a new, five-year collective bargaining agreement on Wednesday, running through 2021 and ending a standoff that had seen the team file a federal wage discrimination suit and take to the court of public opinion in a series of television interviews.
The national team, which is the defending Women’s World Cup holder and has won both that tournament and the Olympics more often than any other nation, had fought for equal pay with the far less successful men’s national team.
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U.S. Soccer, for its part, argued that while most women’s players earn less than the men in most years, this is caused by their differing salary structures, rather than overt discrimination. The women are full-time employees of the federation, with fixed salaries and extensive benefits – like injury and maternity leave – augmented by bonuses. The men, who, unlike the women, have separate club contracts, are on an all-bonus system, which offers higher earning potential but far less security.
Before the old agreement expired – itself an extension of the previous CBA, which was prolonged through a “memorandum of understanding” after a new deal could not be struck – on Dec. 31, the sides had battled with public accusations and a preemptive breach-of-contract suit by the federation when the team’s representative wouldn’t rule out a strike. The USWNT counter-sued but lost its argument in court that the MOU wasn’t a fully-fledged CBA. The team then filed a wage discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, which remains unresolved.
“We are pleased to announce that U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement which will continue to build the women’s program in the U.S, grow the game of soccer worldwide, and improve the professional lives of players on and off the field,” the two sides said in a joint statement on Wednesday. “We are proud of the hard work and commitment to thoughtful dialogue reflected through this process, and look forward to strengthening our partnership moving forward.”
The New York Times reported that the women had secured sizable raises, taking their salaries to between $200,000 and $300,000, depending on the player, and potentially more in World Cup years. They also secured off-field gains in travel, accommodations, image rights and, perhaps most significantly in the long term, improved conditions for players in the National Women’s Soccer League (largely bankrolled by U.S. Soccer) who are actually not on the national team.
The latter victory underscores one of the team’s primary drivers in this fight: to improve life for female soccer players, whether at the national team level or below it.
However, the New York Times wrote that the new CBA does not guarantee equal pay with the men’s team, as a strong year could still push the men’s total of bonuses to a higher earnings plane. The women did secure equal per diems to the men, which had become a public flash point used to underscore the disparity.
In recent months, following a leadership change in the USWNTPA, the sides had apparently come closer quickly. The standoff, and the threat of a work stoppage, seemed to end when Executive Director Rich Nichols was dismissed by the team and hardliners Hope Solo and Carli Lloyd left the bargaining committee – Solo because she was kicked off the team and Lloyd of her own volition.
The sides met in the middle. The women made gains but didn’t get everything they wanted. The federation, meanwhile, further augmented its already-unrivaled commitment to the women’s game. And no soccer games were canceled through a strike.
A win, it seems, for everybody.
Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.
