PRO, referees settle on new 5-year collective bargaining agreement

After nearly a year of negotiations, the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) and the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), the certified labor union representing officials employed by PRO, announced on Tuesday the ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement that will run through January 2024.

“After 10 months of hard work by both parties, we are very pleased to have a new collective bargaining agreement in place as we enter the 2019 season,” said PRO GM Howard Webb in a statement.

“We want to thank the membership of the match official bargaining unit, which has ratified this agreement. We consider the new CBA to be a fair deal for all, which will assist in our collective efforts to grow and develop the refereeing landscape in professional soccer.”

An independent company responsible for administering professional referee programs in North America, PRO identifies, trains, assesses, assigns and employs referees in US and Canadian pro soccer leagues MLS, USL and NWSL. PSRA members voted down a previous tentative CBA deal last month before agreeing on the new deal announced Tuesday.

“I’d like to thank PRO and their team, as well as PSRA’s negotiating committee and our legal counsel, for working so diligently in putting together a new CBA that will serve as the framework of working conditions for our bargaining unit of MLS officials for the next five years,” said PSRA president Steve Taylor.

“Many thanks also to the PSRA membership for entrusting this work to our committee. Ultimately, I’m confident this agreement serves the PSRA membership well.”