Cleveland’s J.C. Tretter Elected President of N.F.L. Union

Tretter created and posted to Twitter a fact sheet on the proposed deal that was widely shared from other players’ accounts last week. Okung, who announced his candidacy in January, had been one of the most vocal opponents of the proposal. Thomas has also opposed the deal, while Acho has openly lobbied for players to ratify the agreement.

“Let’s not be fooled, this deal is a really good deal for a majority of N.F.L. players who, like most Americans who work, get paid more if they play more,” Acho said in a video posted on Twitter.

Opposition to the proposal is so deep that the union’s executive committee, which on paper led the negotiations, took the unusual step of voting 6 to 5 not to recommend the proposal to the union’s board. The board, which is made up of players from all 32 teams, also declined to endorse the deal, though a majority of them agreed to send the proposal to all 2,000 players.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the team representatives shook up the ranks of the 11-man executive committee, electing Atlanta Falcons center Alex Mack to replace Mark Herzlich as its treasurer. Mack is now the second-highest ranking player in the union.

The board also voted to add Calais Campbell of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Malcolm Jenkins of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Wesley Woodyard of the Tennessee Titans each to two-year terms. They replace Adam Vinatieri, Zak DeOssie, and Okung.

Okung filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday that accused Smith and the union’s staff of negotiating the labor agreement in bad faith by forcing a vote on the deal over the objections of its executive committee, in violation of the union’s constitution.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/sports/football/jc-tretter-president-nflpa.html