Newspaper Story

The Major Indoor Soccer League Players Association has set a strike deadline of midnight, March 28 for the owners and the association to settle on a new bargaining agreement.

The MISL's bargaining agreement with the players expired in 1983 and that agreement has continued for the last three years. Representatives from the 12 teams met in Washington, D.C., on Monday and set the strike date in hopes the owners will begin negotiating.
Chicago, Minnesota and San Diego, who came into the league from the North American Soccer League teams, could not vote on the strike date. Those three teams currently operate under a bargaining agreement from the NASL.

"The players are taking the position that they want something to happen,' said Mike Uremovich, who attended the meeting on behalf of the Sidekicks' players. "Sooner or later they will have to negotiate. Hopefully, it won't come to a strike but the players will strike if necessary.'

"I think everbody is too sensible to let that happen,' said Sidekicks coach Gordon Jago. "I would have thought that both sides were to smart to let that happen, especially at this stage in the MISL.'

Some of the major issues to the players are salary guarantees, Americanization and compensation for career-ending injuries. The owners are asking for a salary cap of between $1 million and $1.5 million.