Mediator to join NFL labor negotiations

By BOB GLAUBERbob.glauber@newsday.comFebruary 17, 2011

With time running out on the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, the league and the Players Association agreed Thursday to work with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to resume negotiations.

A session is scheduled for Friday in Washington. The CBA is due to expire at 11:59 p.m. on March 3.

"I have had separate, informal discussions with the key representatives of the National Football League and the Players Association during their negotiations for a successful collective bargaining agreement," agency director George H. Cohen said in a written statement, according to the Washington Post.

"At the invitation of the FMCS, and with the agreement of both parties, the ongoing negotiations will now be conducted under my auspices in Washington, D.C., commencing [today]."

But don't expect to hear much about the talks. Cohen said that in line with the "FMCS' long-standing practice" he will "refrain from any public comment until further notice due to the extreme sensitivity of these negotiations.''

In an e-mail, NFLPA president Kevin Mawae told The Associated Press: "Any time that both sides can get together, through conventional means of bargaining or mediation, to come to an agreement that can benefit all parties, it is a good thing."

The owners broke off talks Feb. 9 after a long session. Talks were canceled Feb. 10, with no substantive negotiations since.

Owners and union officials have agreed to meet for seven consecutive days, although there is no guarantee that will happen, according to an NFL source.

Mediation is non-binding, but it's a positive step in that both sides agreed to have a neutral third party sit in on the talks. Last year, Cohen helped Major League Soccer reach a deal with its players union.

NFL owners also decided to shift a meeting scheduled for March 3 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to March 2 at a hotel in northern Virginia. The venue and date changes could signal a willingness to continue negotiations with the union, which is headquartered in Washington.