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Napheesa Collier previously warned of a potential work stoppage earlier this year. WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson also warned of an assertive approach on Thursday. The WNBPA believes it's time to get a new collective bargaining agreement done, and Jackson made clear that the union will not shy away from being aggressive in its bid to do so.
"We've been aggressive in terms of our discussions, our proposals -- plural -- and our meeting schedule," Jackson said at the ESPNW Summit in Brooklyn. "It's a group project. We're doing our part of it, and we're just hopeful that the league sees the opportunity to have those milestones in place, work towards significant progress -- it's not just a catchphrase -- by the halfway point and work towards completion by October 31."
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Jackson also declined to rule out a possible work stoppage.
The WNBPA opted out of the current CBA last fall, and the agreement will expire on Oct. 31, after the conclusion of the 2025 WNBA season. The players are calling for increased salaries and improved benefits through a new agreement, along with addressing a team's possible replacement options when a player goes on maternity leave.
Napheesa Collier, who is a vice president of the WNBPA, had weighed in on the issue on ESPN's "First Take" in March.
"No one wants a walkout," Collier said, "but I think we have to stand firm in what we think we deserve in this new CBA."
The Minnesota Lynx star said that the players are currently in a "great position" to negotiate, given the surge in the league's ratings over the past year.
Napheesa Collier makes TIME's list of the 100 most influential people
Napheesa Collier made TIME Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2025, which the organization published last month. Collier and Breanna Stewart made the "pioneers" category of the list for their efforts in founding Unrivaled.
Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart founded the 3x3 league, which had its inaugural season earlier this year, and may provide further negotiating power to the players due to its success.
"The sport is just exploding. You saw it with the viewership in the WNBA last year, with Unrivaled this year. People are tuning in," Collier said. "We have the most leverage we've ever had as WNBA players and we have to use it to our advantage. The time for change is right now."
The women's professional 3x3 league was created in part to allow WNBA players to supplement their income by competing domestically during the league's offseason.
