It is almost certain that the NFL regular season will begin with replacement officials. The NFL has locked out the members of the NFL Referees Association in a contract dispute and has hired replacement officials to call the games until there's a collective bargaining agreement. This week, NFLRA attorney, Mike
Tag: labor dispute
Can the NFL players union help the NFL referees union?
Eastin on sideline for Preseason Week 2
[media-credit name="Mike Jurecki | XTRA 910 Sports." align="alignright" width="150"][/media-credit] Shannon Eastin will have to wait at least week to continue her history-making stint as the first female NFL referee. A source with knowledge of the second week assignments of the replacement officials indicates that Eastin will be in uniform, but will
Referee temps have ’01 scab experience
Crossing the proverbial picket line is familiar to some of this year's replacement officials. That's because the NFL has found somebody that they used to know. Eleven years ago, when the NFL Referees Association went on strike, the league hired replacement officials, who served in the preseason and Week 1 of
First female official doesn’t earn stripes, milestone comes with asterisk
According to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, former Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference referee Shannon Eastin has been assigned as an official for Thursday's Packers-Chargers preseason game. It is the first time a female has been assigned to officiate an NFL game, preseason or otherwise. While this is a monument of
Are full-time stripes a negotiation snag?
From that I’ve read and heard, the most talked about lockout issue coming from the NFL Referees Association is the pension plan. Currently the officials receive a traditional pension when they retire, and, apparently the NFL wants to make the officials’ retirement funda self-managed 401(k)-type plan. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in January that
Can replacements keep up with pro game?
[Editor's note: With this post, we welcome Mark Schultz as a contributing writer. We look forward to a long collaborative relationship with him.] The NFL preseason schedule is commencing without the regular officiating crews who have been locked out by the NFL in a labor dispute. Unlike the officials' strike in
ESPN: 99.9% chance of replacement refs
What seemed a far-off future threat last October is now a relative certainty, according to a report by ESPN. A source with knowledge of the negotiations between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association says, "I'm 99.9 percent sure replacements will work in Canton" officiating this Sunday's Hall of Fame Game. The