Through all the uncertainty in these CBA negotiations, there was one thing carved into stone. The WNBPA is united and not bending to the league. The strike authorization vote back in December displayed exactly that. WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike described the vote as a “symbol of our unity and the confidence that we have in each other.” However, as we approach the business end of the talks, a civil war is brewing between the players and the PA. 

According to ESPN, Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart wrote a three-page letter to players’ union executive director Terri Jackson, expressing “serious concerns about how the PA is handling the current negotiations.” The Vice presidents emphasized how some of the players have been shafted during this process. 

In the letter, Plum and Stewart requested “a changed dynamic between our PA administrators and the players” and expressed that  they “do not feel like we have an adequate seat at the table in these negotiations.” The letter highlights growing frustration among players but also exposes a deeper issue: how communication flows within the WNBPA during negotiations.

There are 4 parts in the WNBPA. The first point of contact and the frontline in the CBA negotiations is the WNBPA staff led by Jackson. There are 4 more staff members like Erin Drake, Sr. legal counsel, and Michael Goldsholl, SVP of business and legal affairs. Others include Jayne Appel-Marinelli, SVP of Player relations and Andrea Bermudez, the Managing Director of Operations.

 Then there is the executive committee comprising players like Ogwumike, Plum and Stewart, along with player representatives from each team. The rest of the players are last in line to get any communication. And according to this letter, it has  caused a disconnect between the players and the WNBPA. 

“When we and other players have attempted to express concerns about negotiations, we have been made to feel as though we are acting against the interests of the PA,” the letter read. “Many other players across the league feel these same frustrations and have expressed them to us but feel afraid or unable to speak out.”

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At the outset, the main concern with the approach in the negotiations was a possible class divide in the WNBA. Calie Fin of the Las Vegas Journal gauged the mood of players that she described as “mid-level.” The consensus among them was that they do not feel they are “being well represented” in negotiations. 

One player highlighted the “misleading” proposed average salary numbers. “We need to stand together and do what’s right for all players. The last couple of CBAs haven’t been kind to role players,” the player said. According to the ESPN report, this letter from Stewart and Plum was sent last month. Now, the WNBPA staff has finally taken up these concerns.

WNBPA Calls All-Player Meeting After Red Flags Raised By Executive Committee 

Earlier, Jackson had stated explicitly that a CBA would not become final without the vote of members. It was the same for the previous CBA. The union would need the majority of players who vote to be in agreement in order to reach a deal. However, that is not true to undertake a lockout. The players have already given the executive committee and the WNBPA the right to do that independently. However, through this process, not everything has been passed on to the players’ executive committee. 

The letter offered examples like a detailed breakdown of the WNBA’s expenses and revenue “to the best of our understanding.” Along with  a comparative analysis between potential losses players would face in a delayed or strike-shortened season versus the potential gains achieved in a new CBA earned through continued negotiations, among others. And yet, the WNBPA has failed to provide them. Addressing this issue, the WNBPA has called a meeting for every player. 

“The union called an all-player meeting Tuesday evening to discuss the concerns in the letter, among other matters.” Alexa Phillioppou wrote, “The letter, a private communication, was shared by Jackson with the executive committee earlier Tuesday.” We are less than a week away from the March 10th date and the players aren’t up to speed yet. It would need a miracle for all the parties to come to an agreement in the current timeline. The fans desperately want a season. So do the players and the WNBA management. Can the players and the league pull through?