PHILADELPHIA — The next meeting between the WNBA and players’ union will be Monday, WNBPA first vice president Kelsey Plum said during Unrivaled’s media availability Friday morning.
It has been over a month since the WNBA received the union’s latest proposal as the two sides work on a new collective bargaining agreement, and the league has not responded. A person with knowledge of the situation said the WNBA has not sent a counter because the union did not change their proposal.
‘I think we’ll learn a lot from this meeting,’ Plum said. ‘I’m not trying to put it on the meeting, but this is a meeting that I think everyone understands what’s at stake. The league has their timelines; we as players understand what’s at stake.
‘I always come into anything that I do with a great attitude, and I’m gonna see the best in this.’
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the meeting will take place in New York City with members of the WNBPA leadership committee and labor relations committee, led by WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, which includes a handful of WNBA owners.
The WNBA and players’ union have been at a impasse in negotiations, extending the deadline twice before entering a ‘status quo’ period on Jan. 9.
Under ‘status quo,’ the working conditions established in the current CBA remain unchanged, allowing both sides to continue negotiations. The current agreement also prevents the WNBA or its players from engaging in a work stoppage without giving proper notice.
WNBA players are prepared to strike if they can not come to an agreement. The negotiations with the league remain at a standstill. Players voted to authorize the WNBPA executive committee to ‘call a strike when necessary,’ on Dec. 18.
‘We are standing firm in our feet and 10 toes down, there is a reason, and we will not move until y’all move,’ New York Liberty guard Tasha Cloud said. ‘So I’m gonna look directly into the camera too, but we will not (expletive) move until y’all move.
‘It would be the worst business decision of any business to not literally pay the players that make your business go. Without us, there is no W season. So if the pressure is on the WNBA, on Cathy (Engelbert), on (NBA commissioner) Adam (Silver), on everyone that is in that front office. Do your job. Negotiate and pay your people, your players, your workers.’
The 2026 WNBA season is scheduled to begin May 8. It will be the league’s 30th season, provided the WNBA and the players’ union come to an agreement.
The players have prioritized increased revenue sharing and salary structures in negotiations. The sides differ on whether revenue sharing should be net or gross income, the percentage of the share and the salary cap.
Heather Burns contributed to this report.
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