Labor Agreement

If embattled Atlanta Braves relief pitcher John Rocker eventually serves the 28-day suspension recently imposed by baseball commissioner Bud Selig, he won't be the only one who pays a heavy price for his mindless and mean-spirited diatribe against New Yorkers. His Braves teammates, finally facing some real competition in the National League East, could pay dearly for the loss of one of the game's premier relievers, even if it's only for the month of April. That takes us from the moronic to the ironic, since the likely beneficiaries of Rocker's costly suspension would be the same New Yorkers who spent October goading him into his eventual undoing.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- US Airways Group Inc.'s pilots union said yesterday that the company's plan to book passengers on other domestic carriers' flights to Japan violates its labor agreement.The complaint follows US Airways' request to the U.S. Department of Transportation to sell seats aboard AMR Corp.'s American Airlines flights from Dallas to Tokyo and Osaka and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Tokyo.The practice, called "code sharing," creates more available flight times to a destination and reduces the hassle that passengers face when making connections on a different airline.

Peter G. Angelos yesterday reached a labor agreement with the leadership of the Sparrows Point shipyard workers union, moving the Baltimore Orioles' chief executive a step closer to buying the yard from Bethlehem Steel Corp.Angelos and Murphy Thornton, president of the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers Local S-33, said they expected the agreement to be easily ratified Tuesday in a vote by approximately 900 workers.Neither man would disclose details, but Thornton said the agreement involves changes in work rules that should not be objectionable to workers.

A representative for outfielder Brady Anderson said yesterday that he rejected an initial offer from the Orioles for a two-year contract extension, but Anderson said he does not think serious negotiations have begun.Anderson, 33, who last season became the first player in club history to hit 50 homers, is signed through next season for $4 million. The Orioles expressed interest in extending Anderson's contract in late October, when they exercised his option for 1997.Jeff Borris, one of Anderson's representatives, said the Orioles offered the two-time All-Star a deal worth $4 million a season for 1998 and 1999 a few weeks ago."

CHICAGO -- Baseball's four-year labor dispute was settled yesterday, when owners voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association and end a battle over the economic future of the game.The owners voted 26-4 to approve the same agreement that they rejected, 18-12, three weeks ago, guaranteeing labor peace through 2000 and reviving a 1997 experiment with interleague play.The deal calls for a stiff luxury tax on player payrolls in excess of $51 million next year, with the threshold rising in 1998 and 1999.

There is speculation that the contract Jesse Orosco agreed to last week would be voided if owners approve baseball's proposed labor agreement today, but Orioles officials say the reliever's deal is final.Orosco is one of a group of free agents who could be offered salary arbitration because they were subject to repeater rights by their 1996 clubs. The proposed labor agreement would eliminate repeater rights, and those players would become unrestricted free agents.However, two of the repeater rights players have agreed to new contracts -- Orosco and Chicago Cubs reliever Bob Patterson.

Baseball owners are nothing if not confusing, a muddle of contradictions and bizarre decisions that inevitably makes them look silly.On one hand, Florida Marlins owner Wayne Huizenga is a hawk, demanding a labor deal that will drag down player salaries. On the other hand, he reportedly is prepared to make a prohibitive offer to free-agent outfielder Albert Belle -- $10 million per year, or a whopping 15 percent more than Cleveland intends to offer -- an agreement that is bound to drive salaries higher.

Major League Baseball won't name a commissioner until it gets a labor agreement. And it won't get a labor agreement until it names a commissioner.Only the Lords of Baseball could create their own Catch-22.Their latest stunt makes sense only to those familiar with the sport's labor history, in which nothing ever makes sense.On Wednesday, the Lords voted, 18-12, to reject a proposed settlement in their 100 Years War with the players.Randy Levine, the first owners' negotiator since 1990 to reach agreement with union chief Donald Fehr, should be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Baseball owners decisively rejected a proposed labor agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association yesterday, once again putting the future of a troubled sport in doubt.The owners voted 18-12 against the tentative deal hammered out by management negotiator Randy Levine and union officials, then voted unanimously to approve a revised deal that calls for further concessions from the players -- a deal the union seems certain to reject."As a result of today's meeting, the clubs have voted unanimously to allow the Executive Council to finalize an agreement with certain modifications and clarifications without going back to the owners," said interim commissioner Bud Selig.

The Orioles plunged into the free-agent market yesterday, contacting agents for at least two shortstops, and general manager Pat Gillick, unsure of how the proposed labor agreement may affect the club's payroll, has encouraged veteran designated hitter Eddie Murray to talk to other clubs.Gillick last night confirmed the club's interest in these free agents:Shortstops Mike Bordick and Kevin Elster, another sign the Orioles intend to move Cal Ripken to third base. Bordick, 31, will be a free agent if the owners ratify the proposed labor agreement.