Some Keys to the NBA Lockout

Abstract

This article addresses two central issues regarding the 1998-99 National Basketball Association (“NBA”) lockout: 1) its impact on labor law doctrine and 2) what it reveals about the state of labor relations in the United States. The author concludes that, while the use of the traditional lockout weapon did not break any new ground in the area of labor law, the unique attributes of the NBA labor dispute provide insight into the condition of the American labor movement and public perceptions of unions. In particular, the author notes that the NBA lockout highlights both the dramatic differences in the power of highly-skilled and less-skilled workers to engage in work stoppages and the failure of labor laws to protect workers vulnerable to aggressive employer tactics.

Keywords: labor relations – professional sports, NBA, labor disputes, contract law, labor law, lockouts, work stoppages, labor movement, labor unions