Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Plum reportedly air frustrations over CBA negotiations in letter to WNBPA head
· Yahoo Sports
With the clock ticking on the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement negotiations, the union appears to be facing internal unrest from two of its biggest names.
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Breanna Stewart and Kelsey Plum, two of the seven players on the Women's National Basketball Players Assocation's executive committee, aired out a series of frustrations in a letter to executive director Terri Jackson, ESPN's Alexa Philippou and Don Van Natta Jr. reported Tuesday.
Chief among the reported complaints from the two players was "the lack of adequate player involvement" in the CBA process.
The WNBA and WNBPA remain mired in a CBA fight that is increasingly threatening the 2026 season with a labor stoppage. The two sides have exchanged a series of proposals in the past few months, but are now a week out from the WNBA's self-imposed March 10 deadline for a verbal agreement. Even if an agreement is reached soon, the league will likely have to do an entire offseason's worth of business in the month of April before a May start to the season.
In their three-page letter, Stewart and Plum reportedly express "immense gratitude" for Jackson's leadership, but say they are "frustrated" with the amount of progress made so close to the March 10 deadline and ascribe it to a "a breakdown in communication" between Jackson and the executive committee they are a part of.
Kelsey Plum, the No. 2 player on the WNBPA executive committee, says she hasn't been involved enough in CBA negotations. (Photo by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)Leonardo Fernandez via Getty ImagesThe letter reportedly lays out a laundry list of requests for information the union's staff hasn't granted, with examples including, via ESPN:
a detailed breakdown of the WNBA's expenses and revenue "to the best of our understanding"
a comparative analysis between potential losses players would face in a delayed or strike-shortened season versus the potential gains achieved in a new CBA earned through continued negotiations
aggregate results of a PA survey sent in recent days polling players on their thoughts toward the league's latest proposal
a clear description of how rookie salaries will be structured and how they scale over the course of a rookie contract
information on distributions from OneTeam Partners and a clear articulation of the executive committee's roles and responsibilities
That's not small stuff in a CBA battle. Stewart and Plum say the executive committee cannot fulfill its role without that information, and indicated they aren't alone:
"When we and other players have attempted to express concerns about negotiations, we have been made to feel as though we are acting against the interests of the PA," the letter said. "Many other players across the league feel these same frustrations and have expressed them to us, but feel afraid or unable to speak out."
The letter was reportedly sent Monday night and requested an executive committee meeting within 24 hours. That led to an all-player meeting to discuss the letter.
This is far from the first sign of turbulence in the union as it attempts to, among other things, negotiate a larger revenue share from the league.
Last week, a union meeting reportedly got tense when some of its members said they had changed their minds on a strike authorization. However, more than half of the union's leadership reportedly reaffirmed its commitment to striking if the league forces its hand.
Days later, Plum and Stewart both publicly came out as hesitant about a strike. You can probably do the math on which union leaders were in the minority about the strike.