
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 25, 1993                   TAG: 9312250100
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

UNION FILES GRIEVANCE AGAINST THE REDSKINS

Thirty-seven players on the Washington Redskins face suspension for their final game of the season for not paying their union dues or a $5,000 service fee.

Doug Allen, assistant executive director of the NFL Players Association, said Friday all the other players in the league have satisfied their union payments.

Redskins management has refused to suspend the players for the Dec. 31 home game against Minnesota. The matter is to be settled Tuesday by binding arbitration at a hearing in Washington.

The suspension would be indefinite and conceivably could carry over to next season. The Redskins (4-10) have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Dues cost each player $5,000 annually. If a player chooses not to join, the collective bargaining agreement stipulates he must still pay a $5,000 service fee - except in states with right-to-work laws. Those laws affect eight NFL teams - the Cowboys, Oilers, Cardinals, Buccaneers, Dolphins, Broncos, Falcons and Saints.

The Redskins, citing right-to-work labor laws in Virginia, where they train, insisted they were exempt from the requirements of the labor agreement and would not suspend any players. So the union filed a non-injury grievance Friday against the Redskins with arbitrator Herbert Fishgold, who will conduct Tuesday's hearing.

"We expect the arbitrator to uphold the right to suspend," Allen said. "Everyone in the league gets the benefits of the CBA; everything in the agreement is available. You can't pick and choose whether they get it or not if they do not join the union. It's fair to require everyone to pay their fair share."

Three Redskins - safety Brad Edwards, linebacker Monte Coleman and tight end Terry Orr - said Thursday they would not pay the dues.

Allen cited a 1990 proceeding in which the Redskins lost a workers' compensation case. Fourteen players said the team was bound to follow the laws of the District of Columbia, where the team plays. Management claimed it did not have to pay because the team practiced in Virginia.

"Their case again is meritless, and they will lose," Allen said.

Keywords:
FOOTBALL

by CNB