Baseball Strike Enters 26th Day with No Bargaining Sessions Scheduled

The 26-day-old baseball strike remains unresolved, with no meetings between the players and owners since August 25. Despite calls for a settlement, the two sides remain far apart on key issues, including a cap on payrolls. Unofficial efforts, such as talks between club officials and union officials, have yielded little progress. The strike has stalled, with even unofficial efforts producing "very little" according to players' and management sources.

Key Takeaways:

• The baseball strike, now in its 26th day, has seen no progress in negotiations between the players and owners since August 25.
• Key issues, including a cap on payrolls, remain unresolved, with the players steadfastly rejecting the owners' proposal.
• Unofficial efforts, such as talks between club officials and union officials, have produced "very little" progress, according to sources on both sides.
• The US Secretary of Labour, Robert Reich, has met with acting commissioner Bud Selig but described the talks as "frustrating" and emphasized that the government cannot force the parties to reach an agreement.
• The strike has had a significant impact on the baseball season, with the possibility of no World Series in 1994 being discussed by Reich as a testament to the industry's greed.
• U.S. President Bill Clinton has weighed in on the strike, expressing his hope that the parties can reach a settlement and joking that George Mitchell, the Senate majority leader, would have resolved the issue by now if he were commissioner.
• Negotiators have met only three times since the strike began, with the last meeting taking place on August 25.