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NFL Players' Union May Decertify As Lockout Looms

WASHINGTON (CBS) -- A lockout is looming as the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players' union expires Thursday night, and a published report says little progress has been made.

Previous reports have indicated the Players Association is likely to decertify to prevent a lockout, and take its chances in court.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that after eight days of negotiations with a federal mediator in Washington, there has been little progress. The 32 team owners have meetings Wednesday and Thursday in nearby Chantilly, Va., where they will be briefed on the status of negotiations before deciding on the next step.

The deadline is Thursday, and could result in a labor shutdown – which would still have a monumental impact despite starting in the offseason.

If the league locks out the players, everything stops except the NFL draft on April 28-30 - and any interviews or workouts teams conduct with college players leading up to the draft. After that, teams can't contact their picks, nor can they sign undrafted rookies.

Veterans also will be in limbo, with no offseason workouts (OTAs) or minicamps held. The longer the impasse lasts, the more in jeopardy training camps, the preseason and even the next regular season become.

Should the union decertify, something it did in 1989, only to reform, individual players would seek a court injunction preventing a lockout. Players on every team approved decertification in votes during the season.

But going through the courts can be a long, winding journey.

The league filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union with the National Labor Relations Board in mid-February, saying the NFLPA "consistently has failed to confer in good faith" during negotiations for a new contract. The NFL claimed the union's plans to decertify overrode its interest in reaching a new collective bargaining agreement, a charge union spokesman George Atallah said had "absolutely no merit."

If the union decertifies, which it must do before the collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. Thursday night, Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL in essence would have nobody to negotiate with. But the players wouldn't have executive director DeMaurice Smith representing them anymore.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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