NBA Players Choose Union by a Landslide : Pro basketball: Collective bargaining agreement now set to be ratified and season seems likely to start on time.

That was, indeed, the NBA spotted strolling arm in arm with its players again Tuesday.

The National Labor Relations Board announced in New York that 85.1% of the players’ union membership had turned out in two polling sessions and voted, 226-134, to retain the National Basketball Players Assn. as its bargaining agent, thus approving the pending collective bargaining agreement.

Not long afterward, league leaders announced that they would try to move up the owners’ vote to ratify, originally scheduled for Monday, to Friday so that the 74-day lockout could be lifted first thing next week.

The 200-some dissident players predicted by Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and some ofthe sport’s most powerful agents never materialized. Commissioner David Stern had pegged a high turnout as a key to victory for the league and union, operating as one in this case, and in the end the insurgents could muster only 37.2% of the vote.

Stern predicted the end of the dissident movement, but Daniel Silverman, the NLRB’s New York regional director, said the vote will not be official until Sept. 19, so the losing side may file objections to the way the vote was conducted.

Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer representing players who pushed for decertification, said he has 17 written complaints from union members that could constitute an objection. Whether those will be anything more than a blip on the screen as the NBA pushes to open training camp on time Oct. 6 remains to be seen. Even Kessler could not say for certain that he would challenge the vote.

The numbers--62.8% of the players voted for the deal--may cause the group to give up the fight.

As Stern said, “I think there’s a possibility there will be further challenges. But I’m not sure if there’s such a thing as a decertification force.”

Kessler said, “Of course, I’m disappointed by the vote. I still believe this is a terrible vote for the players and they will regret it for a long time. . . . A lot of the players got intimidated by the threat of the owners that the season was going to end. The strategy the NBA carried out was effective.”

More likely, the pro-decertification faction did not correctly gauge the rank and file, which was never interested in a work stoppage, or a missed paycheck when the average salary hovers at $1.7 million. The players had no serious interest of using their big weapon, a strike, because things are too good.

Players voted Aug. 30 and Sept. 7 but the ballots weren’t counted until Tuesday. One by one, NLRB staff pulled the green ballots from a tan cardboard ballot box and called out yes or no.

With NBPA Executive Director Simon Gourdine and Kessler sitting at the table as witnesses, it quickly became apparent that the yes votes, in favor of the union and against a decertification that would put at least the start of the season in jeopardy, would easily prevail.

“I got nervous waiting for a while,” said union president Buck Williams of the Portland Trail Blazers.

The next step is for at least 21 of the 27 player representatives to approve the deal when they meet today in Chicago. That should happen, delivering the union vote once and for all.

Then it’s the owners’ turn.

The plan had been for them to meet Monday in New York. But basking in the victory, Stern and Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik said they would try to speed up the process and hold a ratification vote by telex or conference call on Friday.

A decision on that will probably be made Thursday, after, as Stern said, league officials “test the pulse a little bit.” More likely, the commissioner will be twisting some arms.

It is considered a foregone conclusion, if not a rubber stamp, that owners will approve the six-year deal, though even Stern admits it will not be unanimous. At issue is by what margin. According to league by-laws, a vote that would need only a simple majority if taken in person needs a three-quarter majority to pass when taken by telex or phone.

Stern will undoubtedly pressure some of the holdouts to reconsider to save everyone the time and money of going to New York for what should be a brief process. If enough fall in line, the vote will be on for Friday. And the league will be back in the business of trades and contract signings Monday.

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NBA at a Glance

* Players voted 226-134 against decertifying the union.

* The union’s executive board meets today in Chicago and may ratify the six-year contract agreed to Aug. 8.

* Owners may meet in New York on Monday to ratify the deal. Commissioner David Stern may, however, hold telephone or telex vote later this week and scrap in-person meeting.

* If the deal is approved, training camps would open as scheduled Oct. 6 and the season would begin on time Nov. 3.

* THE LOCAL ANGLE: Under pending agreement, Clippers would have more room for salary cap maneuvering than the Lakers. C2