New York, NY – The NFL Referees Association has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the NFL.
After negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement between the two sides broke down earlier this month, the NFL announced that it will proceed immediately with the hiring and training of replacement officials.
The NFLRA says that the league sent out "inaccurate, false and incomplete information" to the referees in two separate letters in the month of June.
"It is clear the league never intended to work toward a fair agreement, even through mediation," NFLRA executive director Mike Arnold said in a press release. "As previously noted, the NFL sent out notices regarding the recruitment of replacement referees while we were actively negotiating under the auspicious [sic] of a jointly agreed upon Federal Mediator. Now during a lockout, the NFL is attempting to bypass NFLRA negotiators by distributing inaccurate and misleading financial information to all the referees. We have urged the Board to investigate this matter quickly and to seek appropriate remedies against the NFL's unlawful bargaining practices."
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