Dear Fighters, Start a Union.

[Arrrrgh]

Who would be covered in a boxing union? Who would they be collectively bargaining with?

Whoever wants to come to the table and do business with the fighters. Presumably Showtime and their peers.

 

[Arrrrgh]

I don't have a point. I was just curious.

You're good brother.
I guess I just make assumptions because this forum can go on the attack at times. I can troll as much as anyone on here.

I'm just hoping this reaches a fighter or two and gives them info about where to start if they are interested. And let them know they have a legal right to do so and will be protected.

 

[shwag33]

Fighters are not employed by the UFC. They are independent contractors. Therefore it's almost impossible to force the UFC to do anything legally.

 

[Arrrrgh]

Anyway, not to triple post but I'm stepping away from this thread for the rest of the night to grab food and enjoy the fights. I'll check back tomorrow if anyone has questions/comments/opinions.

I don't have all the answers and only can speak from my experience.
I'm not trying to lead the charge.

If the fighters want a union they will be the ones that do it.

Just sharing my opinions.


EDIT***
one last one:

Fighters are not employed by the UFC. They are independent contractors. Therefore it's almost impossible to force the UFC to do anything legally.

That's not true. Companies will try to use that excuse. It's a hurdle, it's far from impossible. If you have an exclusive contract with one organization that prevents you from working for other companies as long as you work with them, that opens the door wide open to kill the "independent" part of independent contractor.

 

[snackgod]

There are more eyes on the sport today so I thought I'd post this on the off chance a fighter or two is lurking on sherdog. It's a copy/paste of part of a response I made to the news Dana said "he will do as he's told" with regard to Khabib fighting Conor if Conor wins tonight despite having no LW wins since Nov. 2016 and being 1-1 in that division.

Here it is:

All fighters should call the NLRB. That is the National Labor Relations Board. Ask for information about forming a union. You can force the UFC to give deserving contenders title fights. You will get better pay. You can put pressure on the NSAC and other athletic commissions to produce better judges, change the judging criteria, and get better refs. You can have a voice in the next Reebok deal or decide to go back to independent sponsors. You have the power. It will give the fighters a voice to make changes on any and everything in the sport. Just look up the power of other major sports unions. Look up the profit sharing numbers of the UFC vs other major sports. You guys are getting a raw deal. And again, you have the power to change it.

And it's easy.
All you need to do is sign a union card. And it is illegal for the UFC to retaliate in any way. You will get reinstated and receive compensation for lost wages if they cut you.

Here is the website:
https://www.nlrb.gov/
Here is the phone number:
1-844-762-6572
It is a legit part of the federal government designed to protect worker's rights and will help in the unionizing process.

Post it at your gym. Tell your fellow fighters. Don't be afraid to make a better life for yourself and your peers.

I'm not a fighter. My name is Wes. I used to work as a telephone technician as part of a union. I also worked in a non-union position for the cable company. While working for the cable company one of my peers was fired for talking about a union with fellow workers at a breakfast he organized outside of work. He called the NLRB. That company was forced to put up posters in the workplace about workers right to unionize and talk about unions. He was offered his job back (he declined since he was hired into a better paying job already). And he received back pay + damages for the hardship for losing his job and being fired for his legally protected right to unionize.

Not everything unions do is good. There certainly can be corruption and problems, just like dealing with the UFC. The difference is the union members always have the power to decide what happens in the union. You vote on leadership. You decide who represents you and how. You decide what is important to you. And you have your fellow fighters to back you up.

Best of luck making a better life for yourself!

And enjoy the fights everyone!!

PS.
I'm a big fan of the UFC. They aren't pure evil. I even like Dana a lot. But people will look out for their self interest first and you guys and girls are currently getting a raw deal from the organization. It's not opinion, that's what the financial statements say.

TLDR; this thread isn't for you. Feel free to post your troll post.

if wwe wreslters and boxers cant and that been around for 4 times as long as ufc has than mma will never will either.

rememeber gsp tried to start it and itfailed and he came crawling back to the ufc.

if this is started cause of cowboy pay please. cowboy is making millions to fight conor tonight,

 

[DougieJones]

TS you're posting about something that's already been tried by several different groups of people. It's not anywhere near as simple as you make it seem.

 

[Espurgote]

Not necessarily.

The union could stipulate that the UFC has to allow fighters to take fights against fighters in other organizations. The two orgs can hash out the profit sharing and who will host the event much like two college football teams decide home and home series and profit sharing.

You are thinking small.

They could even establish a governing body that the ufc, bellator, one, and all orgs answer to in order to have events. And it could be fighter run with fighter leadership. The possibilities are endless.

I know for a fact this will happen because this happened in Brazil when they passed the "Pelé law" whose objective was to give fighters right and stability, the only thing they achieved was to bankrupt the smaller orgs.
Unionizing does not work in prizefighting.