After much speculation that the MLB Players Association was planning to help unionize minor league players and make them a part of the union, it has become official.
Late yesterday afternoon, it was announced that all minor league baseball players are now officially a part of the MLBPA after their union-authorization cards were validated by an arbitrator and MLB voluntarily recognized the union as players’ bargaining representative.
Jeff Passan of ESPN broke the news of the new development via Twitter.
Now, minor leaguers have more of a say in what conditions they’ll be playing and living under during their time in the minor leagues.
Minor league baseball players are officially part of the Major League Baseball Players Association after their union-authorization cards were validated by an arbitrator and MLB voluntarily recognized the union as players' bargaining representative, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 14, 2022
Minor Leaguers Join MLBPA
This is huge news.
After several years of tension between the Players Union and the league that resulted in the most recent work stoppage, it finally looks like things might be smoothing over a little bit.
Remember, these two sides were at each other’s throats for the longest time.
Now, MLB is doing the right thing by finally allowing minor leaguers to be a part of the union.
This is a big step forward for the game of baseball as far as labor relations go.
Minor leaguers now have a better platform and more say in how their minor league experience plays out.
This is long overdue.
The Player’s Union deserves a ton of credit for pounding the table on this issue and making sure that younger players have a little more leeway than they did when they were younger players.
Minor leaguers can now negotiate their salaries as well.
The Players Union fought hard for this to become a reality and the league did the right thing by allowing this to happen.
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