The MLBPA’s efforts to represent minor leaguers have officially paid off, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic and Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Just over two weeks ago, it was reported that the MLBPA had taken initial steps towards unionizing minor leaguers, with those players being asked to vote on designating the MLBPA as their collective bargaining representatives. About a week later, the MLBPA announced that a “significant” majority of minor leaguers have signed authorization cards in favor of the MLBPA creating a minor league bargaining unit, with the MLBPA requested that MLB recognize this effort. A few days later, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the league would indeed recognize as the bargaining representatives for minor leaguers. Today, an arbiter validated the card count with MLB then voluntarily recognizing the union.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark released a statement on Twitter, which reads:
“I applaud this extraordinary group of young Players and welcome them to the MLBPA. This historic achievement required the right group of Players at the right moment to succeed. Minor leaguers have courageously seized that moment, and we look forward to improving their terms and conditions of employment through the process of good faith collective bargaining. I also want to acknowledge the tireless efforts of Harry Marino and the dedicated group he led at Advocates for Minor Leaguers, without whom this historic organizing campaign would not have been possible.”
Recent reporting revealed that every member of the Advocates for Minor Leaguers staff resigned and took on new jobs with the MLBPA. Membership in the union will now grow from 1200 to more than 5,000, though an MLBPA official told MLBTR last week the proposed unionization efforts would give minor leaguers their own separate bargaining unit under the MLBPA umbrella, adding that any minor league CBA would be negotiated independently of the Major League CBA that was completed earlier this year. Players in the rookie level Dominican Summer League will not automatically be included because it’s based outside the United States, but the MLBPA plans to bargain over DSL working conditions despite those players not officially joining the Association.
Congresspeople from both parties recently expressed an interest in reconsidering MLB’s antitrust exemption. Low rates of pay for minor leaguers has been one of many legislators’ critiques, but recognition of a union and signing a collective bargaining agreement with minor leaguers would take that issue outside the realm of antitrust law and into labor law territory.
Today’s news brings minor leaguers officially into a union for the first time in history, setting the stage for them to also negotiate the first ever CBA for minor leaguers. The various substandard working conditions of minor leaguers have become increasingly highlighted in recent years, with a focus on the low rates of pay and poor housing. There had been some small progress, with reporting in October of last year revealing that MLB was requiring teams to begin to provide housing for all MiLB players, something they were not previously required to do. In July, MLB paid $185MM to settle a lawsuit that began in 2014 related to low wages and minor league players not being paid for Spring Training. These issues, and any other issues minor leaguers may have, will now be addressed through collective bargaining between the union and the league. The MLBPA also recently joined the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), which will likely impact minor leaguers more than their major league counterparts since the benefits of AFL-CIO programs are in areas such as mortgages and car purchases.
All told, it seems like significant changes for Minor League Baseball and its players could be coming over the horizon, though the exact nature of those changes won’t be known until the bargaining process begins in earnest.
So what’s in it for the MLBPA?
At the end of the day, we’re talking about a labor union. More members=more dues paid. Plus, it’s the right thing to do.
It was definitely the right thing to do, I understand that. Maybe I’m too cynical.
Keep your head on a swivel sir….
It’ll come out one way or another, when it comes to the MLBPA and MLB, there are always outlying issues / trade-offs…
Don’t get me wrong am 200% on board with better pay / situations for the minor leagues – it is well overdue…..But this was not done, because it’s the right thing to do…..Owners chopped all those teams last year to streamline THIS process etc etc
When it comes to stuff like this, it can take decades at the bargaining table to come to an agreement on something. This could have been a concession by the owners for something else. There are other more capitalistically sinister reasons for this behind closed doors, no doubt. These unions and the owners both operate like mobsters against one another. The strike and all the negotiations remind me so much of my job it’s not even funny.
In the end, all you can do is take these small ws and be glad that more young people will get properly compensated for their labor. Because ultimately, that is what the players union representing minor leaguers signifies; and it looking to address.
-A proud Teamster
I’ve read that since some members of Congress (from both sides) are looking into removing MLB’s antitrust exemption, that MLB would be wise to not try to interfere with the Union too much. With the recent lawsuit as well, MLB is trying to keep its nose clean a little bit.
I get the vibe that Tony the Tiger is a true union thug and he is a big part of getting all this done and the tide of the union turning
No chance of replacement players if the players strike at some point in the future. MILB players will be in the fold and the independent partner leagues like the Atlantic League agreed as part of this latest CBA to uphold the terms and not cross picket lines. The MLBPA also joined the AFL-CIO, so if the MLB players strike in the future that means that all AFL-CIO affiliated unions would be bound to uphold that strike and not cross picket lines. That would include most of the engineers that allow you to see the broadcast the games, a large portion of the writers that report on the game and nearly all of the TV personalities that talk about the game.
Now comes the hard part for the MLBPA. Representing them and negotiating a CBA.
Here’s a concerning thought. If they can’t negotiate a CBA, the owners really can’t lock out the players since that will bring MLB to a stop. If the players strike, that will also bring MLB to a halt. Can’t run MLB without MiLB.
Or will MLB use players from the non-represented partner leagues? Talk about bad blood of that happens.
It’s going to take more trust than either side has shown in the past.
Wow. I know this has been in the works for decades, but upon vote they sure made it happen quickly
Now there will be trouble… minor leaguers will (and should , they are paid way too little) make demands, mlb will refuse esp since demands will be huge, and minor leagues will strike . No minor leagues, means no backup for major leagues, which means serious issues. It will also greatly stunt growth of minor leaguers when there is a strike because it will be a lengthy one as demands will be plentiful.
An overly pessimistic and unrealistic take on this.
Unions cannot strike unless the season has started. The season cannot start unless a CBA has been reached. Once again it would be the owners locking out the payers.
Welcome to the family. Now pay your dues!
that’s all you can think out of this? minor leaguers probably pay no dues until there is a cba and pay increase. even then, their burden in dues will be much smaller than those of mlb members of the union.
Union dues are like a membership fee. Even if there is no contract, union members still pay the dues. So, my point stands. And of course the amounts are smaller because they make less.
Union members pay an average of 2% in dues while they make 11% more than non-union workers doing the same job. I am not 100% certain, but I think most people would make that trade off.
@outinleftfield
I never made an argument against unions. I just said, time to pay up your dues.
If the minor leagues strike the MLB players will say they won’t cross the picket line
So the MLB CBA becomes meaningless until the minors sign one
“Unions hurt The Job Creators ability to build their own space craft!!! Booo!!!!”
Good.
MLBPA ignoring the minor leaguers was hypocritical and bad for their own interests, as well.
Clark actually doing something right.
“Congresspeople”
Really?
I thought that was an interesting choice of words too.
@Sadler: The silly thing is you care. LMAO. Chairperson probably also gets you (snicker).
Woman and human are next.
Yes, because everyone is calling for it. It’s still funny.
True. We should call them “Swamp People” instead.
It’s a pretty common term… What’s the issue?
Good. Now let us blue collar workers unionize without interference.
Minor leaguers generally lived below the poverty level getting paid worse than minimum wage workers by Major League Baseball teams that pay their salaries.
The end of the minor league baseball plantation appears to be, finally, at hand.
Shame on the MLB Players Association for their selfishness and for rebuking efforts to help minor leaguers organize for decades.
The only reason the MLB Players Association jumped in to finally help minor leaguers was in the name of self interest and numbers of players who will be Minor League Players Association eligible for membership, dues and collective bargaining representation.
(1200 major leaguers + 3,800 new minor league members more than 3X the major league members. It is a “self preservation move by MLBPA to keep themselves afloat and relevant).
A tip of the cap to Harry Marino and the dedicated group he led at Advocates for Minor Leaguers, without whom this historic organizing campaign would not have been possible.”
I hope that the MLB and Minor League Players Association give a generous bonus and salary or buyout to Harry Marino without whom organizing the minor leaguers may not have happened.
Unions are back on the rise. There is safety and power in numbers.
Smart move joining the AFL CIO.
If there ever is a strike, that huge AFLCIO member organization nationwide will not cross the picket line and woulr give the minor leaguers extra clout in getting the liveable wages, health insurance, vacation pay, retirement pay etc that every person needs while pursuing their careers.
The only regret is that their efforts came after contraction of many viable, successful minor league teams. Perhaps, that can be on the table in future negotiations?!
The MLBPA did a hell of a job negotiating the last CBA to get a salary floor to enrich the middle and bottom parts of the membership. Oh wait, all they did was insure Boros’ few clients keep getting mega deals while the rest of the players get nothing. How do you suppose this works out for the minor leaguers?
I think it will eventually work out okayish for them. But I also expect there to be a lot of bumps in the road before then, some much bigger than others.
But at the end of the day, this is still a positive step.
The author only hinted at the biggest reason why MLB was more than willing to voluntarily recognize the union for minor leaguers. That is the anti-trust exemption and Congress’s interest in revisiting this over minor league pay. Collectively bargaining minor league pay takes the steam out of that issue. Paying minor leaguers a reasonable salary probably will cost each team $2-3M a year more than they pay now. That is a cost bore by the MLB team, not the minor league affiliate since MLB teams are responsible for minor leaguer’s pay. So contrary to the Chicken Little’s out there, it isn’t going to result in a massive cost increase to go to minor league games. But that $2-3M per team pales in comparison to what baseball would lose if it lost it’s anti-trust exemption.
Tony Clark needs to get rid of that Santa Claus beard
Lovie Smith vibes