{"id":24,"date":"2026-05-26T18:40:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=24"},"modified":"2026-05-26T18:40:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:40:05","slug":"theres-a-valuable-lesson-in-tonights-wnba-draft-that-congress-could-really-learn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=24","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a valuable lesson in tonight\u2019s WNBA draft that Congress could really learn"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The WNBA and the Women\u2019s National Basketball Players Association hunkered down for eight days and spent more than\u00a0 100 hours working to ensure their employees would be paid properly and that there would be a 2026 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more On this Jackie Robinson Day, reject this lie Major League Baseball tells about itself<\/a><\/p>\n

Monday night\u2019s WNBA draft, in which UCLA\u2019s Lauren Betts, UConn\u2019s Azzi Fudd and TCU\u2019s Olivia Miles can expect to hear their names early, is a testament to the opposing sides\u2019 willingness to work through their differences and keep the people whose livelihoods depended on their negotiations in mind.<\/p>\n

The collective bargaining agreement represents the \u201clargest salary jump in all of sports history\u201d and will usher in the league\u2019s first million-dollar players.<\/p>\n

What a contrast league officials and union officials are to congressional leaders who, almost 60 days into a partial government shutdown, still have not reached an agreement. In fact, Congress took a two-week Easter recess that ends this week. In the meantime, employees of the Department of Homeland Security, including members of the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have, for the most part, been working without pay.<\/p>\n

The league and its players\u2019 union worked it out \u2014 in a way that Congress has not yet been able to do.<\/p>\n

To be clear, the majority of the process was not a bed of roses. The players opted out of their previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in October 2024, and during most of the intervening time, each side was directing hostility at the other. The players and their union were highly critical of what they called the league\u2019s stalling tactics. The league took issue with what it called the union\u2019s posturing and public combativeness.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Not unlike the situation in Congress, there was deep polarization between the sides, especially on revenue sharing. The league wanted to deduct\u00a0 its expenses and then share. The players wanted a share of total revenue before expenses were deducted.<\/p>\n

A shutdown loomed. By that, I mean, there were times when employees across the league worried there would not be a season. And I don\u2019t just mean coaches and general managers. I\u2019m talking about the people who work in ticket sales, staff the arenas and even the referees who officiate games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Knowing the WNBA spent much of its nearly 30-year history being ridiculed as not being worth much attention, those associated with the league became increasingly concerned that the league\u2019s hard-won progress and growing cultural cachet were at risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Players association officials Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart were especially concerned about what would be lost if \u00a0the season didn\u2019t start on time or didn\u2019t happen, period.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Megan Thee Stallion says her boyfriend cheated. But to the manosphere, she\u2019s the problem<\/a><\/p>\n

As a result, both sides met for that eight-day marathon negotiation session. How did these two parties with such divergent interests come together and get a deal done?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to do a lot of listening, reacting, responding and in some cases you are totally pivoting from what you thought when you went into a bargaining session,\u201d WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told ESPN host Pat McAfee.<\/p>\n

When it was all over, the union had a deal it has described as \u201ctransformational,\u201d not only because it provides players with higher salaries and increased benefits, but also because it gives those players a meaningful share of the WNBA\u2019s business as it grows. That is, it allows them to benefit even more from the most recent boom in business, ushered in by younger stars, such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. But even more than that, the union won one-time for retired players who built the WNBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt strengthens housing and retirement, and expands resources for family planning and parental leave,\u201d union President Nneka Ogwumike said in a statement. \u201cIt redefines what it means to be a professional in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Setting up a lot of different people for success seems like herding cats in present day American life, especially in Congress. Some lawmakers have not only been on recess for the last two weeks, but they have been vacationing \u2014 even as federal employees have struggled without paychecks.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the reasons the WNBA\u2019s new groundbreaking CBA, which is the result of people on opposing sides finding common ground, represents a countercultural moment. As countercultural as it seems, though,\u00a0there is hope from the players that the gains from the CBA will lead to gains for women nationwide.<\/p>\n

Alysha Clark, a union official who most recently played forward with the Washington Mystics, said in a recent interview that\u00a0friends of hers were paying close attention to the negotiations and hoping the players\u2019 win could serve as a tipping point for women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just really incredible to see how far what we do in the WNBA trickles into the rest of society,\u201d Clark said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m just really proud of that. I\u2019m really proud of what we were able to accomplish, and really proud to inspire other women to go out there and get your coin, sis.\u201d<\/p>\n

But let us also hope that it can inspire lawmakers who have a responsibility to make sure salaries for federal employees are funded. If they need help learning how to negotiate, let them look to the WNBA.<\/p>\n

Read more Some are cheering the end of the Saudis\u2019 involvement in sports. Here\u2019s why I\u2019m not<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve recently seen opposing sides come together and negotiate a deal that works for all parties. 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