NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Baseball contract negotiators made more movement toward the players' position Sunday in another bid to avoid a strike that is set to begin next Friday.
One day after the owners' chief negotiator dismissed a players' counterproposal, baseball offered a deal that would boost the level at which a luxury tax would kick in. The tax rate was also lowered in the new plan, although union chief Donald Fehr said the newest proposal continued to look, "very much like a salary cap."
It was the second time in a week that the owners' tax and revenue sharing numbers were reduced to come closer than those proposed by the players.
After a plan was presented to the union earlier this month, almost a week went by before a response was forthcoming. And when the union did make a counteroffer, the key to it was a proposal to phase in various tax levels over four years.
Baseball officials said it was the first time a sliding scale had been mentioned in the negotiations.
"Re-evaluting your leverage and backing off five days before a strike deadline is a really dangerous way to conduct a labor negotiation," baseball negotiator Rob Manfred said after the players had made their offer. "It's a really dangerous game to play, particularly if you're honest about wanting to avoid a strike."
Manfred said Sunday, however, that his side was willing to keep trying to reach an agreement and that willingness, he said, was reflected in the new offer.
"The best way to find out if they were serious about making an agreement was to put whatever happened last night to one side and make a forthcoming proposal and see if they could manage to do the same thing," Manfred said Sunday. He said the plan was put forth after discussions with Commissioner Bud Selig.
Based on revenue totals for 2001, the newest plan from the owners would cause $263 million to be shifted from the wealthiest teams to those lowest on the financial ladder.
