Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) to Opt Out of Collective Bargaining Agreement

Dechert advised the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) in an announcement on Nov. 1 that the association will opt out of its current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the WNBA effective Oct. 31, 2019, or after the final playoff game of the 2019 season.

The WNBPA Executive Committee and Player Representatives were able to vote on this course of action between Oct. 14 and 21. Those results were counted and verified, then announced to the WNBA players on Oct. 31. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the opt out. The current CBA still extends through the 2019 season.

“The WNBPA team is ready and eager to begin negotiating the next agreement immediately, and we hope the League treats those discussions as seriously as we do,” said Dechert litigation partner Christina Sarchio, who is the WNBPA’s longtime advisor. “This opt-out is about achieving fairness overall for WNBA players. We are confident the terms of the next CBA will reflect that,” she continued.

The Dechert team also included counsel Ian Downes, and associates Amisha Patel, Rory Gledhill, Sam Burum, Jacob Grubman, Conrad Johnson and Tharuni Jayaraman.

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