Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 7, 1990 TAG: 9003071675
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
"If anybody thinks there is an agreement in sight, that is not right," union chief Donald Fehr said at a news conference that began at 12:30 a.m. EST.
"The owners position can be stated succinctly: It is that salary arbitration eligibility shall not change at all," Fehr said.
Tuesday's session, the 30th since talks began on Nov. 28, came on the 20th day of the spring training lockout.
Both sides say that if camps don't open by Monday, there's little chance opening day could remain on April 2 as scheduled.
Owners increased their offer on the minimum salary from $85,000 to $90,000 per year, but tied it to decreasing the minimum minor-league salary from its traditional one-third of the big-league minimum. The union has been asking for $112,500.
Fehr said owners had offered to increase their contribution to the benefits plan from $39 million in the final year of the current contract to about $50 million per year.
Owners had previously offered an increase to $44.86 million and the union is asking for $62 million.
On the key issue of salary arbitration, Fehr said the owners refused to budge from their position that eligibility should remain at three years. The players want it restored to two years.
"If they wanted to explore something" toward a compromise on that issue, Fehr said, "the answer so far has been they would not want to explore."
Earlier Tuesday, the owners announced they had canceled a scheduled meeting in Texas on Thursday to devote more time to the negotiations.
by CNB