Players Attempting to Unionize?

It would never work with out a structured "professional league". The NFL players unionize to negotiate with the NFL and the Owners. The MLB players unionize to negotiate with the MLB League and the Owners.

Who would the Pro Pool players unionize against? There would have to be ONE league that every pool player played in. The problem is there would be too many "scabs" as if you didn't like the rules of the US Amateur's, you could just go play on the Joss tour. Or APA, or BCA, or USAPL, or whatever tour.

Same thing goes for Golfers, Bowlers, Dart Chuckers, etc. There is not enough structure in our sports.

Hypothetically if Tom Brady didnt agree with the NFL rules, and couldnt get the union to do anything about it, he cant really go anywhere. If he said screw the NFL, im going to play.....what? the XFL? Arena football?
 
Mich said:
We need a spectators/fans Union!
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😂😂 I was thinking the same thing.

No freaking 3 point rule.

Show ball rack so spectators can figure out which balls were pocketed and the next ball up for us color blind people or let the commentators say where the next ball is on the table.

We want instant replay.

Must have capability for commentators to do graphics of the next play they are describing, when necessary.

At least one commentator with expert knowledge of the game in the booth at all times.

Always present bios of the pool players at the table ... Major tournaments won, make of cue, diameter of shaft, tips used etc.

Always show the whole darn table when the shot is being played.

People against shoot offs not allowed to join the union 😁
 
sjm said:
You seem to have assumed that the purpose of the union would be to strong arm event producers into raising prize funds. Perhaps you are privy to things I'm not.

If you're right about the primary mission of this union, I'm with you on this. At a time when total prize money available in our sport is skyrocketing, it's hardly the right time for the players to be ruffling any feathers on prize money (or even, possibly salaries) and if they do, the event producers, whose events are already oversubscribed, may even retaliate by lowering prize funds or eliminating events.

The focus needs to be on increasing demand for the professional pool product, and if that is achieved, the money will come. Far too many players tend to overlook that they must play a large role in helping to present pool as professionally as possible.
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It is a pretty typical perspective these days, at least on America:
People make demands of their fellow humans and fail to realize their mere existence does not mean they add any value to our world.

It is like the Prisoner's dilemma: there is a way all win and there are more ways some or all lose.
 
libtrucker said:
It would never work with out a structured "professional league". The NFL players unionize to negotiate with the NFL and the Owners. The MLB players unionize to negotiate with the MLB League and the Owners.
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Incorrect. Each promoter, in theory is its own "league". The players association would work with each individual promoter to reach common ground on the event in terms of format, rules, etc. Ideally, all the promoters would band together so there could really be consistency across the board.
libtrucker said:
Who would the Pro Pool players unionize against? There would have to be ONE league that every pool player played in. The problem is there would be too many "scabs" as if you didn't like the rules of the US Amateur's, you could just go play on the Joss tour. Or APA, or BCA, or USAPL, or whatever tour.
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The players are unionizing for consistency of the game, not necessarily "against" anyone. They are against the status quo.
libtrucker said:
Same thing goes for Golfers, Bowlers, Dart Chuckers, etc. There is not enough structure in our sports.
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Doesn't it have to start somewhere? The players banding together is a step towards building structure. Each of these sports have player's associations: Golf has two: PGA: Professional Golfers' Association, PGA of America: Professional Golfers' Association of America; Bowling: PBA: Professional Bowlers Association; Darts: PDPA: Professional Dart Players Association.
libtrucker said:
Hypothetically if Tom Brady didnt agree with the NFL rules, and couldnt get the union to do anything about it, he cant really go anywhere. If he said screw the NFL, im going to play.....what? the XFL? Arena football?
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You forgot the CFL.
 
Sorry, but the players are living in a fantasy world if they think their pinky promise is going to help.

Who do they think is going to accept or not accept them?
Who is going to provide counsel to the group on legal/ administrative matters?
Who is going to defend the group when it gets sued for breach of contract to a player it was supposed to represent?

The idea is dead in the water.

There aren't 2 pool players in the world who will sit out for a year or two in an effort to support the organization's mission.
 
VVP said:
😂😂 I was thinking the same thing.

No freaking 3 point rule.

Show ball rack so spectators can figure out which balls were pocketed and the next ball up for us color blind people or let the commentators say where the next ball is on the table.

We want instant replay.

Must have capability for commentators to do graphics of the next play they are describing, when necessary.

At least one commentator with expert knowledge of the game in the booth at all times.

Always present bios of the pool players at the table ... Major tournaments won, make of cue, diameter of shaft, tips used etc.

Always show the whole darn table when the shot is being played.

People against shoot offs not allowed to join the union 😁
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I would join this "Railbirds Associated Together" union.
 
Black-Balled said:
Sorry, but the players are living in a fantasy world if they think their pinky promise is going to help.

Who do they think is going to accept or not accept them?
Who is going to provide counsel to the group on legal/ administrative matters?
Who is going to defend the group when it gets sued for breach of contract to a player it was supposed to represent?

The idea is dead in the water.

There aren't 2 pool players in the world who will sit out for a year or two in an effort to support the organization's mission.
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The WPBA did it for the last 45 years and is still doing it. Are you saying when it comes to organizations, the women players can do it but the men player's can't?
 
FranCrimi said:
The WPBA did it for the last 45 years and is still doing it. Are you saying when it comes to organizations, the women players can do it but the men player's can't?
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I don't really see the wpba as having attained the successes we'd hope for the game.
 
FranCrimi said:
The WPBA did it for the last 45 years and is still doing it. Are you saying when it comes to organizations, the women players can do it but the men player's can't?
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The men haven't, so far... We shall see if they have any better luck this time around. As has been pointed out more than a few times in this thread, a lot of that depends on what the goals of any prospective organization are.
 
Black-Balled said:
I don't really see the wpba as having attained the successes we'd hope for the game.
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Then you probably don't know how they were able to draw blood from a stone all these years. It may not seem successful to you, but given the industry and how tight it was for money, they managed to sustain a 15-year pro tour with over 2 million each year in sponsorship money, as well as produce and pay for 3 ESPN TV shows per event. There were other things they accomplished as well outside of those 15 years, and they are now again in the process of reinventing themselves with 12 tour stops this year.
 
rexus31 said:
Incorrect. Each promoter, in theory is its own "league". The players association would work with each individual promoter to reach common ground on the event in terms of format, rules, etc. Ideally, all the promoters would band together so there could really be consistency across the board.

The players are unionizing for consistency of the game, not necessarily "against" anyone. They are against the status quo.

Doesn't it have to start somewhere? The players banding together is a step towards building structure. Each of these sports have player's associations: Golf has two: PGA: Professional Golfers' Association, PGA of America: Professional Golfers' Association of America; Bowling: PBA: Professional Bowlers Association; Darts: PDPA: Professional Dart Players Association.

You forgot the CFL.
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The PGA of America is the association of golf professionals(club pros and teaching pros) in the US. The PGA is same thing in the UK. The PGATour has been a stand-alone entity for quite some time now. They don't have a union per se but a 'players advisory board' who work with the commissioner on various tour issues. The Tour has talked about unions on a few occasions but so far nothing has come of it. These guys make so much $ that they're smart enough not to rattle the cage containing the golden goose. Scheffler has made as much so far this yr as Rahm made in the whole reg. season last yr. He's got almost 8million in the bank already.
 
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rexus31 said:
Incorrect. Each promoter, in theory is its own "league". The players association would work with each individual promoter to reach common ground on the event in terms of format, rules, etc. Ideally, all the promoters would band together so there could really be consistency across the board.

The players are unionizing for consistency of the game, not necessarily "against" anyone. They are against the status quo.

Doesn't it have to start somewhere? The players banding together is a step towards building structure. Each of these sports have player's associations: Golf has two: PGA: Professional Golfers' Association, PGA of America: Professional Golfers' Association of America; Bowling: PBA: Professional Bowlers Association; Darts: PDPA: Professional Dart Players Association.

You forgot the CFL.
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Yeah, good luck with all that
 
Let’s keep it real

I’ll be on the Mcup, no I’ll be Mcup MVP before there’s a players union.

Anyone thinks differently is dreaming
 
rexus31 said:
Gotta start somewhere for there to be progress. Players complaining without doing anything to better their situation is way worse.
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See the point but as of right now the promoters/money hold all the cards. The players need to be real careful how they approach this. They need the $$ folks way more than the other way around.
 
garczar said:
See the point but as of right now the promoters/money hold all the cards. The players need to be real careful how they approach this. They need the $$ folks way more than the other way around.
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I all boils down to what changes the players want and how they go about requesting them. I think both sides need each other more than they think. Would you buy the stream of an event or attend in person if the top 20 players weren't participating? I wouldn't. Without the top players, added money would most like reduce. It's not a good scenario for all involved. In order to market a quality product to attract real money, the top players need to be participating. Everyone prospers if real money gets injected into pro pool.
 
FranCrimi said:
Then you probably don't know how they were able to draw blood from a stone all these years. It may not seem successful to you, but given the industry and how tight it was for money, they managed to sustain a 15-year pro tour with over 2 million each year in sponsorship money, as well as produce and pay for 3 ESPN TV shows per event. There were other things they accomplished as well outside of those 15 years, and they are now again in the process of reinventing themselves with 12 tour stops this year.
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I I I I'm pretty aware of the pool world, especially in the United States, and has a fan of the game wish you the bestest of fortunskis in your upcoming partnership with the ppppa.
 
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