The Major League Baseball Players Association announced yesterday that it has hired veteran attorney Bruce Meyer to serve as its senior director of collective bargaining & legal. He is expected to play a leading role in the MLBPA’s negotiation efforts with MLB.
According to the announcement, Meyer “will report to [MLBPA executive director] Tony Clark while focusing on all facets of the negotiation and the enforcement of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.”
Meyer comes to the game of baseball after decades of experience with unions of other sports. Most recently, he worked for the National Hockey League Player’s Association. There, he functioned alongside NHLPA executive director Don Fehr, the former longtime MLBPA director.
Fehr’s notable run at the helm of the MLBPA — which spanned several contentious and controversial episodes in labor relations — came to an end when he stepped down in 2009, handing the reins to Michael Weiner. Upon Weiner’s untimely death in late 2013, the top job passed down to Clark.
The addition of Meyer atop the MLBPA negotiation team comes nearly two years after the most recent round of CBA negotiations. The resulting agreement in many ways maintained preexisting approaches to managing the contractual interactions of players and teams, but included several notable rules tweaks that many believe operated to the detriment of players (see, e.g., this post from Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper).
In particular, the luxury tax line and international spending limitations have arguably harmed MLB players’ earning upside, particularly for quality veterans seeking long-term deals in free agency. It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that there’s another fascinating market test coming up this winter. While multiple big-market organizations made sure in the last offseason to reset their luxury tax rates (which increase upon consecutive seasons in excess of the spending line), those same teams and others could now be freed to loosen their purse strings somewhat.
Three more years remain for the union to gather evidence and plot a strategic course before a ramp-up toward a new CBA. In the meantime, the MLBPA has already launched a grievance action against four teams for allegedly failing to properly utilize funds received through revenue-sharing rules.
Just how the Meyer hiring will influence the progress of labor relations remains to be seen. With his litigation background — the announcement notes he has worked on “several landmark grievances and lawsuits brought on behalf of Players across each of the North American major professional sports” — Meyer certainly has experience in more confrontational means of engaging with sports leagues and owners. Surely, though, the preference on all sides will remain the avoidance of any disruptions to business, particularly as the game of baseball encounters some tricky issues with respect to the nature of the game, its competitive balance, and its delivery to consumers in person and through a screen.
For his part, Meyer says the move represents an “opportunity to continue my commitment as a Player advocate.” He also noted in his statement that he “believe[s] in Tony’s vision for the Players and for the organization,” a message evidently intended to convey internal solidarity and affirm Clark’s leadership position in light of the criticism he has received.
I still have no clue as to why there is still no draft pick (not compensation) trading in the league. Hopefully that’s in the next CBA.
Agreed! Way past time.
Three sides need to agree for it to happen.
The players really wouldn’t seem to care.
The owners would have to be in favor to the tune of 23/30.
The Commissioner would have to agree, as well.
Either the Commissioner objects, or at least seven owners are concerned their side would lose in the exchange. Ask the owners if they (individually) would vote in favor.
Be careful what you wish for… could see the Marlins or Texas trading future 1st round picks that end up being #1 overall, to dump contracts of Chen, Prado or Choo.
Shpuld only be allowed to trade/swap current draft picks (after draft order is figured) NOT future ones.
Completely agree with that
I don’t know why you brought up Choo. Sure he’s owed a lot more money but Texas has a massive television contract and they’re in a huge market. I can’t see Texas making cost cutting measures like that, Choo’s actually been good and could probably be traded for something without eating the entirety of his contract.
I don’t care how it works out or which side gets a better deal. I just don’t want to see a stoppage. Hopefully this change helps that become a reality.
Create a livable minimum salary for minor leaguers.
MLBPA doesn’t represent minor leaguers, which means that not only do they not care about them, but that usually minor leaguers suffer the most when it comes to concessions offered by the players’ union.
1. “MLBPA doesn’t represent minor leaguers . . . “
2. “ . . . minor leaguers suffer the most when it comes to concessions offered by the players’ union.”
Because the MLBPA doesn’t represent minor leaguers it is incapable of making concessions on their behalf. Find another straw man.
The fact that nobody represents minor leaguers in those negotiations means that the MLBPA is able to negotiate sone terms for MLB players at the expense of minor league players. I guess it’s not really a “concession” so much as it just is the MLBPA selling minor leaguers out.
Agree. What do MLB players care, the least of which make half million each year if some kids can’t afford to eat.
Been the same forever and it’ll never change unfortunately. Proof right there unions not any better than right to work. If they were? They and the Minor league kids would be under the same umbrella.
Funny how amateurs are subject to union rules like the draft and they aren’t even members! Then they toil in horrid conditions because of same. Free Willy!
I’m sure they care about them, but they care more about the big moneymakers in the majors.
At the games I attend in San Bernardino, if a home team player hits a HR or strikes out the side, we pass the hat and give whatever is collected to said player.
The more I attend minor league games, the more I prefer it over the majors. In fact, I will be canceling my MLB Premium streaming package after this season, and will put that money towards a season tickets package. Maybe I’ll even get the MiLB streaming package, too.
Get it….the best $50 you’ll ever spend…..the audio sometimes is awful (b/c they’re basically re-transmitted radio) but even with that, you get to see most of all those Top 30 guys you read about…..and you get to see all those wacky MiLB promotions that teams hold…..and the yearly package literally lasts all year, so you can watch (thru archive) any game that happened the previous year….really helps in December in my neck of the woods…..
I should have said again. I had it once, but it was not very good quality at that time.
I just wish it could be watched through my Fire or Roku.
Yes!
Smart move. The MLBPA needs an actual labor lawyer near the top. Next CBA should eliminate the luxury tax completely. Absolutely no reason for the players to subsidize the owners.
You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube there. The players don’t have any leverage to do that anymore.
“The players don’t have any leverage to do that anymore.”
Silliness. Of course they do. Same as always.
Also, what do you guys think about changing the seeding for playoffs? (Not because I’m a mariners fan and well. You know) Something like the 3 best records in the AL would be automatic, (2 vs 3, 1 seed plays WC winner still) and then the 4 and 5 seeds battle in the wild card game. I just think it’d be more rewarding in a way so that a team like the Yankees wouldn’t have to play in the wild card, despite having the second best record in the league.
Unbalanced schedule. It will never happen
The four teams the union filed a grievance against in the offseason have a combined winning percentage of .506
Minor league players are not in the union. Hence, their low wages.
Any sport that has wild cards should not have divisions. Baseball should be National and American leagues only. Why should the Yankees have to have a play-in game with their record.
Because they didn’t win their division
Hopefully this ends the bush league negotiating from the PA. The last two CBAs have been an absolute disaster for them.
Tony Clark got rolled in that last CBA. Good for the union to acknowledge that and try to solve the problem.
This would seem to reduce Clark to something between an at large union rep and the MLBPA’s mascot, but the players wanted a former player in charge and now they have the appearance of that with (hopefully) competent collective bargaining. Win-win.
Good luck.
This isn’t exactly MLB vs the players, FYI. This is small & mid-market teams vs the players and the big market teams. I’m a Cubs fan, and I can guarantee you that the new CBA hurt the Cubs as an organization. The new CBA was set up to hurt big market teams for acting like big market teams.
And the reality is it creates a ridiculous cycle. If big market teams lose draft picks etc for going over the lluxury tax limit, their farm systems will be weaker and they’ll have to rely on Free Agency more in order to stay competitive, which will just keep them over the luxury tax limit.
Older players are screwed because stars and young, cheap players are where it’s at. Minor leaguers—do people realize how many minor leaguers there are? In order to pay minor leaguers more, teams would have to cut down on the amount of teams & players.
I’m not saying things don’t have to be done. I’m saying there has to be common sense solutions—there’s too many people with solutions that only cause more problems.
If MLB players want higher salaries, they should be fighting hard against expansion (& instead for contraction; minor league contraction too). The problem with the union, however, is that it doesn’t have all players’ interests in mind. It caters to its big money stars and rookie contract stars. Most everyone else gets left behind. Players will continue to get screwed until they decide to stop screwing each other and actually caring about fellow players—stars compromising for average players, for example.
So good luck to this guy. As long as players are fighting their own self-interests & the Jerry Reinsdorffs of the world, real progress will be hard.
Teams and players alike don’t know what compromise is. That means picking and choosing the winners.
Or, maybe just fire Tony Clark?
I think you’ll see significant changes….Roster Size: 27 or 28, or some system of ” daily de-activation” for starting pitchers……Free Agency: down to 4 years; will swap for elimination of arbitration…..likelihood of expansion by the time the CBA expires…..lotsa stuff going on…..