The United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) scored its first victory against the U.S. Soccer Federation. Both sides have announced that they have reached an agreement on Tuesday.
The USWNT was originally going to make a claim against the soccer federation on the basis of unequal working conditions in soccer with a date for the trial being January. This also presents another positive step in repairing their relationship.
The U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said, “This settlement is good news for everyone and I believe will serve as a springboard for continued progress.”
The settlement would provide better accommodations and new policies for the women’s soccer team. Legal documents say that both the men’s and women’s teams will now play at “top-tier venues” and “maintain comparable budgets” for hotels. Both women’s and men’s teams will now have a support staff of between 18 to 21 federation employees. Furthermore, the legal filings say that the U.S. Soccer federation has to implement these policies for “a minimum of four full years.” After that, “any subsequent changes to the policy shall be subject to collective bargaining with the USWNTPA.”
Although the case of the unequal working condition is settled, there is another case that looks like there will be no settlement in sight. The USWNT will now focus on moving forward with their other case against the U.S. Soccer over unequal wages.
The USWNT is seeking $67 million in back pay, something that the U.S. Soccer Federation says it cannot provide. Cone said that the money would “bankrupt the federation.” So, Cone is trying to work with the USWNT to find a compromise, and with their recent settlement, there is renewed hope.
Cone said, “We hope today’s positive step forward will result in the USWNT accepting our standing offer to discuss contract options. As a former USWNT player, I can promise you that I am committed to equality between the USWNT and USMNT. My goal is, and has always been, to come to a resolution on all equal pay matters and inspire a new era of collaboration, partnership, and trust between the USWNT and the federation.”
The USWNT case on unequal wages was dismissed by a judge in May. The USWNT could not appeal the decision until their other case regarding unfair working conditions was resolved. With both sides reaching a settlement, they are now able to appeal the decision by the judge. USWNT spokeswoman Molly Levinson affirmed the appeal by releasing a statement saying, “We now intend to file our appeal to the court’s decision which does not account for the central fact in this case that women players have been paid at lesser rates than men who do the same job.”
Before they could do so, the settlement has to be approved by a judge, reviewed by the players before being settled. Once the settlement is completed, the judge would then grant the USWNT permission to move forward with the appeal. After that, they will have a 30-day deadline to file the appeal.
