NEW YORK -- Baseball players and owners resumed labor talks Thursday but again avoided the central subjects of increased revenue sharing and a luxury tax that would slow the increase in salaries.

A's OK union to strike

The Oakland Athletics voted Thursday during a pregame meeting to authorize the executive board players' union to set a strike date. Tim Hudson, the A's assistant player representative, said the measure passed by a show of hands. "Obviously, if you set a strike date, that doesn't mean we go on strike,'' Hudson said. "That's just saying that we want to get something done. Hopefully, something gets done before any of that happens.'' Players are threatening baseball's ninth work stoppage since 1972 -- the year Oakland won the first of three straight championships. The union is considering various strike dates, starting in mid-August. Baseball players and owners are negotiating in New York, but are avoiding the central subjects of increased revenue sharing and a luxury tax that would slow the increase in salaries.

Instead, the sides focused on the amateur draft, with owners responding to the union's proposal of last Friday.

After the main negotiating session, management lawyers Bob DuPuy, Rob Manfred and Frank Coonelly met separately with union officials to go over what happens next in the drawn-out talks to replace the agreement that expired Nov. 7.

The sides are scheduled to meet Friday, then three times next week. Players are threatening baseball's ninth work stoppage since 1972, fearing that if they don't strike, owners will attempt to change work rules or lock them out after the postseason. Players are considering various strike dates starting with mid-August.

Owners want to increase the percentage of shared local revenue from 20 percent to 50 percent and to have a 50 percent luxury tax on the portions of payrolls above $98 million.

Currently, the annual amateur draft is only for players in the United States and Canada, and owners want to expand it to include all players from all countries.

The union's latest proposal agrees to that concept, but while management wants a 38-round draft, players are proposing a 16-round draft.

A key disagreement is how to treat the approximately two dozen baseball academies clubs operate, many in the Dominican Republic. The union, fearful that players outside the United States and Canada would be given less-favorable treatment, wants the commissioner's office to take over operation of all the academies from the teams so that all would have equal knowledge of the available players.

Management, instead, is prepared to guarantee the continued operation of the academies.

``Everybody has a significant investment in those academies,'' Manfred said.

While Manfred said he thought management had moved closer to the union's position, union lawyer Michael Weiner did not consider the owners' changes Thursday to be major.