TORONTO - Players on the Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders will hold a strike vote Saturday.
Veterans on teams outside Alberta have already voted and are in a legal strike position but the Eskimos and Stampeders were unable to vote earlier due to provincial labour laws. If they vote in favour of a strike, the earliest they could do so is Wednesday night in accordance with the legislation.
The CFL and its players have been without a collective agreement since May 29.
The CFL exhibition season is scheduled to begin Monday night with the Toronto Argonauts visiting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but with players on both teams in a legal strike position, that game could be threatened.
CFL Players' Association president Scott Flory didn't return a telephone message Friday while a league spokesman said commissioner Mark Cohon wasn't available for comment.
The Eskimos and Stampeders will include their rookies in the vote because Alberta law requires all players to participate. Traditionally, first-year players don't vote because they're not recognized as certified union members, but the players' association is allowing them to do so to counter any potential legal challenge from the league.
