Under the new television deal Stern cut, he has already procured lockout insurance in case a labor standoff forces the league to miss games after the current collective bargaining agreement expires.

Pollin clashed with Jordan at a bargaining session during the long labor standoff in November 1998.

Negotiators on both sides of the Bee-Line bus system strike agreed yesterday to bring in a federal mediator to help resolve their differences in the four-week labor standoff.

The impact the jailing of Mr. Toussaint would have on the labor standoff between the union and the authority was unclear.

A contentious labor standoff nearly derailed training camp.

Having lost nearly half the season to a labor standoff, the NBA is compressing the trading and signing period in order to begin the season quickly.

The thousands of American Airlines pilots who have called in sick as part of a messy labor standoff have adopted a time-honored union tactic - a sort of strike without striking.

Jordan has never held a management position in the league, but his marketing savvy and his ability to successfully negotiate with N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern during last year's labor standoff gave him valuable experience.

With the labor standoff between the city's bus and subway workers and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority still unresolved, members of the Council said they hoped to underscore flaws and inequities in the law.

The league already has lockout protection from its other television contracts that provides guaranteed payments that will in effect bankroll the owners in case of a labor standoff.