WNBA Union Director Blames Player Rupture on League

In the 10 days since the WNBA imposed a March 10 CBA target date to avoid a delayed season, the WNBPA’s unified front has begun to crack. 

It started with details of a tense player meeting on Feb. 24. A day later, a collection of player agents shared a letter with WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson seeking access to the league’s latest CBA proposal. On Tuesday, a new letter leaked to ESPN from first vice president Kelsey Plum and vice president Breanna Stewart to Jackson. 

In it, they expressed concerns over the way negotiations have been handled by the union and a shared belief that the lack of progress as the March deadline approaches “is a result of a breakdown in communication between [Jackson] and the Executive Committee and players more broadly.” The letter was also sent to the WNBPA executive committee and union staff. 

In an interview with Front Office Sports at union headquarters in New York, Jackson addressed Plum and Stewart’s letter directly. 

“I think you’re hearing that there is a discomfort with what’s been playing out,” Jackson said when asked about the letter. “I don’t know that there’s a discomfort with what we’re doing.” 

“I hear the frustration,” she continued. “I hear the emotions and the range of them as a result of the league putting pressure on the players, the league dragging this out. The one thing I said to [the players] is they have one tool and their tool is to out wait you.” 

Plum and Stewart’s three-page letter mentioned “serious concerns about how the PA is handling the current negotiations.” 

The WNBA has repeatedly stalled negotiations, including when it refused to engage with a December proposal submitted by the union for roughly six weeks. When both sides met in person on Feb. 2 following this stalemate, the league came to the meeting with no counterproposal. 

Other players have shared opposing views to Plum and Stewart regarding communication with Jackson and union staff. WNBPA secretary Elizabeth Williams told FOS this Tuesday’s meeting was the first time she heard about a lack of communication and players not feeling comfortable speaking up. 

“I think maybe because of the pace of negotiations move faster now people may feel like they’re playing catchup,” Williams said. “That’s my guess, but any member can initiate a call or meeting if they want to.” 

Williams added that she believes player reps have been more active participants in these calls than the last CBA negotiation she was part of in 2020. 

The union conducted a survey to gauge how players were feeling about the league’s latest proposal following last week’s meeting that showed varying views on a potential strike. According to the union, 114 members participated in the survey—which was open to players for four days—with 84% voting in favor of the union continuing to push for a higher percentage of revenue share. But some sources believe the way the union posed its questions to members was leading. 

The first question of the five-question survey obtained by FOS asked: “Would you accept the league’s proposal of ‘50% of net revenue,’ which is less than 15% of gross revenue in an eight year deal or ask the union to keep negotiating?”

The survey went on to ask players if they voted yes to accepting the 15% proposal, “are there additional wins you believe must come with the 15%?” If their answer to that question was also yes, they were asked to select what their top five additional wins would be. If players answered “no, keep negotiating,” to that question, they were then prompted to answer what percentage of gross revenue they would be willing to accept: 18%, 20%, 22.5%, 25%, or “other.” Those players were then prompted to answer if there were additional wins that must come with that received revenue-share percentage. If yes, they were prompted to identify them. 

“I think the questions were just fine,” Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham tells FOS. “They were trying to allow people to fully understand what this means. If you say yes, this is what it means. If you say no, this is what it means. So, I personally was O.K. with how the questions were asked.” 

A statement was released Wednesday on behalf of the executive committee—including Plum and Stewart—along with the results of the first question of the survey. 

“In every CBA negotiation, the goal of the league and teams is to divide the players,” the statement read in part. “These negotiations are no different. We remain united and focused on delivering a transformational CBA for all members of this Union, and are committed to negotiating for as long as it takes.” 

Players authorized a strike in a near-unanimous vote in December. But according to multiple sources, players’ feelings about that strike authorization have changed. On Monday, Plum was among multiple players who expressed their disapproval of a potential strike. 

When asked what the players would gain by striking, Jackson said in any labor negotiation a display of unified strength provides leverage. However, she doesn’t believe “any person that works for the union or on the advisory team” wants a strike. Despite some executive committee members asserting that a strike is still on the table, Jackson said there is no division. 

“Nobody wants a strike,” Jackson said. “I think that is absolutely what you’re hearing. Do I hear division in that? I don’t. I hear players saying they are frustrated. They are disappointed that a negotiation that started early with the intention of having significant progress at All-Star, with the intention of wrapping up in October.” 

“No one wants a strike,” WNBPA treasurer Brianna Turner told FOS. “You don’t call a strike because you want to, you’re calling a strike because you have to.” 

Plum and Stewart’s letter outlined requested information including a detailed breakdown of the league’s expenses and revenue “to the best of our understanding” and a comparative analysis between potential losses players would face in a delayed or strike-shortened season against the potential gains achieved in a new CBA earned through continued negotiations. 

Full access was granted to players who made that request following a process that included signing league-required nondisclosure agreements. The entire executive committee now has access to the league’s complete proposals, according to union staff. Players could get full access—beyond summaries that have been provided—to the WNBA’s financial records available to the union following a similar process required for access to proposals, according to union staff. The WNBA opens a portion of its financial records to the union. The WNBPA also reserves the right to independently audit the league’s revenue each year. 

According to one source familiar with the NBPA’s negotiating process, full documentation of league proposals and financial documents was not provided to executive committee members in past negotiations. The NBPA would give access in various instances, like if a committee member reached out to union staff asking to see documentation or if they were at the table when a specific piece of information was being discussed. The NBPA, like the WNBPA, used summaries to inform players on league finances and proposals. 

The union did say its advisory team—which includes economist Claudia Goldin, ex-FBI agent W. Charles Bennett, and media executive Tag Garson—is available to deliver on requested information like Stewart and Plum’s regarding potential losses associated with a delayed or shortened season. The union said up until this point, questions about the potential financial impact of a delayed or shortened season had not explicitly come up from players until Plum and Stewart’s letter.

The ball is now in the union’s court to deliver a counterproposal. According to multiple sources, the union’s all-player call on Tuesday evening didn’t include discussing plans for its counterproposal to the league. Jackson says a counter was discussed “a little bit” but did not go into specifics. A call with the entire executive committee immediately followed the all-player call in which plans for a counterproposal were discussed in more detail, according to union staff. 

Plum and Stewart’s letter put names to an anonymous group that has increasingly questioned Jackson’s tactics during negotiations. Others, like Williams, expressed confidence in union staff and legal counsel as negotiations continue. 

Jackson said that she spoke to Plum and Stewart outside of the player meeting in what she characterized as a “good conversation.” Before Unrivaled’s championship game Wednesday night, Stewart told the Associated Press she felt better after Tuesday’s union call. 

“Sometimes hard conversations need to be had,” Stewart said. “I felt better after it and know that we finished that call understanding that we’re representing the larger body [of players] and we have work to be done and we’re going to do that work.”

Jackson has been with the WNBPA since 2016. When asked whether she plans to remain executive director of the WNBPA beyond this CBA negotiation, Jackson did not hesitate. 

“I don’t think that’s even a question,” she said. “Absolutely. I serve at the pleasure of the players.”