Little movement in labor talks as deadline approaches originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

MLB and the players union continued labor negotiations in Florida on Tuesday, the second straight day they met.

The good news is they're still talking and are set to meet again Wednesday,

The bad news is Tuesday's negotiating session produced little progress toward an agreement yet again — with the league's deadline for an on-time start to the regular season fast approaching.

RELATED: Why this week is most important of MLB lockout

Meanwhile, the potentially ugly: MLB made its second request of the lockout for federal mediation, which the union rejected again.

MLB again today pushed for third-party mediation, sources said. The players’ stance on that has not changed: they want to talk to the league directly.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 22, 2022

The union's proposal Tuesday included tweaks to issues including minimum player salary, the percentage of players eligible for arbitration after two seasons and the number of teams included in a proposed draft lottery.

MLBPA's proposal today
-lowered arbitration eligibility from 80% to 75% of players with 2+ years of service
-went from 8 teams to 7 teams in a draft lottery
-increased min salary raises, still starts at $775k in 1st yr, but goes up by $30k in subsequent yrs (was $25k increases)

— Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) February 22, 2022

But the two sides this week have yet to exchange proposals on the luxury tax, the most significant issue of the labor battle.

There still have been no exchange of proposals on the luxury tax the first two days either between #MLB and the #MLBPA, with MLB sitting at $214 million with stiffer penalties than the previous CBA and the union at $245 million.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 22, 2022

MLB could lift the lockout at any time, allowing spring training and the season to start, but hasn't shown a willingness to do so as it would open the door for the union to vote to strike.

Instead, according to multiple reports, the league set Feb. 28 as a deadline for an agreement in order for the regular season to start as scheduled March 31.

That there's been no movement on the luxury tax can only be viewed as a bad sign.

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