Sports and Labor in the United States

Overview and analysis of labor relations in the big four American sports.

Overview and analysis of labor relations in the big four American sports.

Longlisted for the 2016 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing presented by PEN American Center

Are today's professional athletes nothing more than selfish, greedy millionaires with no idea how ordinary people live? The common perception of today's professional baseball, basketball, football, and hockey players is of individuals always wanting more money and better working conditions. When it comes to labor issues in sports, the usual media spin portrays topics such as strikes by players and lockouts by owners as millionaires in dispute with billionaires; each group as self-interested as the other. However, as is often the case, the truth is vastly different. Sports and Labor in the United States demonstrates that players are often exploited by ownership and fight for matters of principle, not simply material gain. In accessible, nontechnical language, Michael Schiavone presents a comprehensive examination of labor relations in American professional sports and how they have evolved over time. Separate chapters on MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL provide an overview and analysis of each sport from their organized beginnings up to the present day. Like no other work before it, Sports and Labor in the United States provides a comprehensive and detailed understanding of labor relations in American sports for scholars, those interested in labor issues, and sports fans.

Michael Schiavone is a Lecturer in the School of History and International Relations at Flinders University, Australia, and the author of Sports and Labor in the United States, also published by SUNY Press.

Michael Schiavone is the author of Unions in Crisis? The Future of Organized Labor in America.

"…[Schiavone] is to be congratulated for providing a very readable and clear account of the histories of labour relations in these four major North American team sports." — Industrial Relations