Minor leaguers opt to form 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, who earn as little as $10,400 per season, are expected to negotiate for an initial collective bargaining agreement during the offseason.
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. He didn’t provide the sides a specific number.
“This historic achievement required the right group of players at the right moment to succeed,” union head Tony Clark said in a statement. “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.”
MLB had agreed Saturday that it would voluntarily accept a union if there was majority support and wouldn’t force players to petition the National Labor Relations Board to hold a representation election.
Minor leaguers form a separate bargaining unit within the MLBPA.
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.
Minor league union dues are likely to be a fraction of big league dues: $85 per day this year over the 182-day season.
Auto racing: The 2023 NASCAR schedule includes previously announced races at the new downtown Chicago street course and a return to North Wilkesboro in North Carolina for the annual All-Star race. The schedule is largely unchanged from the 2022 version. The 10 playoff tracks are the same, the exhibition Clash will return to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Daytona 500 will open the season Feb. 19. The only notable date change is a second stop at Richmond Raceway.
College football: The SEC instructed Georgia and Tennessee to postpone home-andhome games against Oklahoma scheduled for the next two seasons. The second meetings with both teams were scheduled for after Oklahoma and Texas start playing in the SEC in 2025. Georgia was set to visit OU in 2023. The Sooners had been scheduled for a game at Tennessee in 2024. They’ll replace the Georgia games with SMU and are still seeking to fill the Tennessee slots.
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