Major League Baseball’s thirty teams have approved a proposal for handling labor relations in a truncated 2020 season. But initial efforts to sell the concept to the Major League Baseball Players’ Association are off to a rocky start.

Union chief Tony Clark expressed general opposition to the MLB plan in comments to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic (subscription link). He argues that tying pay to revenue — as the team side intends to propose — effectively constitutes the imposition of a “salary cap.”

The MLBPA has long fought against efforts to impose a salary cap. Clark accuses the league of “trying to take advantage of a global health crisis to get what they’ve failed to achieve in the past.” From Clark’s perspective, the focus shouldn’t be on salaries to much as “finding a way for us to get safely back on the field.”

The union continues to insist that the sides’ late-March agreement fully resolves the question of 2020 player salaries. There’s an ongoing dispute over the interpretation of that recent pact.

It remains to be seen whether the league and players will be able to negotiate out their differences. Public opinion is sure to play a role in how things shake out, which explains the recent run of reporting and public statements.

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