The WNBA and the players’ union will meet Monday in New York for the first time in several weeks to try to move forward the stalled negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Kelsey Plum, a point guard who played for the Los Angeles Sparks last year in her ninth WNBA season, is vice president of the players union. Plum mentioned the meeting to reporters while she was preparing for a game in Philadelphia with Phantom BC, the team she captains in Unrivaled, the South Florida-based 3-on-3 league that features dozens of WNBA players.
“I think we’ll learn a lot from this meeting. I’m not trying to put it on the meeting, but this is a meeting that I think everyone understands what’s at stake,” Plum said. “The league has their timelines; we as players understand what’s at stake. I always come into anything that I do with a great attitude, and I’m going to see the best in this.”
Plum will be joined at the meeting by other members of the executive council, including Napheesa Collier and Nneka Ogwumike, as well as union leadership.
The league will have its regular negotiating team, including WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the labor relations committee and a few other owners, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.