NEW YORK (AP) — Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem and chief union negotiator Bruce Meyer met for 1 1/2 hours Thursday and discussed the major issues in the stalled talks to reach a deal that would end Major League Baseball’s lockout.
Union general counsel Ian Penny and MLB Executive Vice President Morgan Sword also participated in the session.
The players’ association executive board was to hold a conference call later Thursday. The sides then may decide the next step in the drawn-out negotiations.
Baseball’s ninth work stoppage was in its 92nd day Thursday and is the sport’s first labor conflict to cause games to be canceled since the 1994-95 strike wiped out the World Series for the first time in 90 years.
Negotiations broke off Tuesday after the ninth straight day of meetings in Jupiter, Florida, and baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that opening day on March 31 and the first two series for each team this season had been canceled. He said there would be insufficient training time for the March 31 openers.
Negotiating teams then headed home.
The sides had made progress during 16 1/2 hours of bargaining that ended at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday but were still far apart on areas that include the key economic components of the luxury tax, pre-arbitration bonus pool and minimum salaries. The sides expressed anger at each other’s proposals when talks resumed later that day.
