Minor league players join MLB union

The Major League Baseball Players Association became the bargaining agent for more than 5,500 minor leaguers on Wednesday, completing a lightning fast organization campaign that launched just 17 days earlier.

Minor leaguers, some of whom earn as little as US$10,400 per season, are expected to negotiate for an initial collective bargaining agreement during the off-season.

Martin Scheinman, the sport's independent arbitrator, notified Major League Baseball and the union that a majority of the 5,567 players in the minor league bargaining unit had signed union authorization cards since the drive started Aug. 28, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.

MLB had agreed Saturday it would voluntarily accept a union if there was majority support and would not force players to petition the U.S. National Labor Relations Board to hold a representation election.

Minor leaguers form a separate bargaining unit within the MLBPA, which negotiated its first collective bargaining agreement for big leaguers in 1968. About 1,200 major-leaguers are covered by the big league agreement, and their average salary has risen from $19,000 in 1967 to more than $4 million this year.

Minor leaguers are expected to choose player representatives who will lead them in bargaining during the off-season.

MLB and the big league union have had a contentious relationship that led to nine work stoppages, including a 99-day lockout last winter that delayed the start of this season.