MLS' New Deal?

The 2010 season on Major League Soccer is scheduled to begin at the end of this month, complete with the newest expansion team, Philadelphia Union. However, fans can not get too excited for the new year, yet, as rumors have been swirling about a possible work stoppage, and this labor dispute might get much more complicated than any we have seen in a major American sport.
First off, there are many differences between the way MLS works versus the rest of the "footballing" world. In virtually any other soccer league in the world, players can sign contracts of any length, and with any team. Additionally, those contracts can be voided only at the agreement of the club and the player. In other words, if a player wants to leave the club or the club wants to sell that player to another team, both the club and the player must agree to it. This gives the player much more say over the direction of their career than in any league in the United States. Alternatively, Major League Soccer acts as a single entity, so players do not sign contracts with individual teams, but rather MLS generally. So only MLS decides what club that player will play for, and for how much. If a club wants to trade a player from San Jose to Toronto, the player has no say. This structure also allows MLS to impose a salary cap, unheard of in world football.
So this basic structure of MLS in under threat. The owners, for their part, have promised not to lock the players out. And why would they? This system is working perfectly for them, almost guaranteeing profitability and allowing even the smallest payrolls to compete. It is not working for the players, however, and they have threatened a strike.
What the owners are trying to accomplish here in nothing more than posturing. They set this system up, in direct violation of FIFA rules at the time, to try to ensure the viability of the league. At present, the league appears viable, adding expansion teams almost every year, but a strike could quickly turn that around. Now that players feel secure enough in their jobs to care that they are getting screwed, they want something done about it. The owners are hoping that fans will blame the upcoming strike on greedy players, but don't they just want what blue-collar fans want for themselves; the ability to negotiate with an employer and walk away when one's needs aren't met. Sure, these guys are making good money to play a game for a living, but they are getting a raw deal compared to colleagues around the world. If MLS owners are not willing and able to improve the ground rules for everybody, it will eventually be the fans that lose out. Be it from a work stoppage, or by just having a third-rate domestic league. Or possibly, by not having a domestic league at all.