As Major League Baseball and the players' union continue to fight over the proposed buyout of two franchises, many in the baseball and labor relations industries are weighing the chances of the two sides. Although many feel that the union's past successes in contractual disagreements may give them a slight edge, employers usually have the power to make decisions about the opening and closing of facilities. Professor Richard Hurd of Cornell University's ILR School was quoted in a recent New York Times article, as saying that whether or not a union can prevent a shutdown "depends on their power and whether they have negotiated limits to a company's ability to downsize."
See "Developing a Team Beats Closing the Books", RICHARD SANDOMIR, The New York Times, November 12, 2001