Key people, background in labor negotiations

Key people and background in Major League Baseball’s labor negotiations:

Collective bargaining agreement

A five-year contract between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association expires at 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 1.

History

MLB had five strikes and three lockouts from 1972 to 1995, including a 7 ½-month strike in 1994-95 that caused the World Series to be canceled for the first time since 1904, but reached agreements without a stoppage in 2002, ’06, ‘11 and ‘16.

Representing management Rob Manfred

Now 63, completing seventh year as commissioner. Succeeded Bud Selig as baseball’s 10th commissioner in January 2015. A 1980 graduate of Cornell and a 1983 graduate of Harvard Law School, he clerked for U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro in Massachusetts. Manfred became involved in baseball in 1987, when he was an associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and the firm was retained as counsel for MLB’s Player Relations Committee. He assisted on collective bargaining during the 1990 spring-training lockout and the 1994-95 strike, then became MLB’s executive vice president for labor relations and human resources in 1998. He was promoted to EVP of economics and league affairs in 2012 and to chief operating officer in September 2013. He led negotiations for labor deals in 2002 and 2006 of player relations in March 2010, assisted in collective bargaining in 2011 and was promoted to director of player services. Weiner, who took over from Fehr as executive director in December 2009, said in August 2012 that he had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Weiner’s symptoms increased in June 2013, and Clark was promoted to deputy executive director in July 2013. Weiner died that November and Clark was voted executive director by the union’s executive board that Dec 3.

Bruce Meyer

Was hired in August 2018 as senior director of collective bargaining and legal and took over as chief negotiator from Rick Shapiro, who was senior adviser to the executive director and left the union in July 2019. Now 60, Meyer is a 1983 graduate of Penn and a 1986 graduate of Boston University School of Law. Was a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges from 1986-2016, representing the unions in the four major U.S. sports, including collective bargaining, then was senior director of collective bargaining, policy and legal for the NHL Players Association.

Jeffrey Kessler

Made opening argument in a grievance by players’ association over shortened 2020 season. Now 67, is coexecutive chairman of Winston & Strawn and co-chair of its antitrust/competition and sports law practices. Longtime sports union outside counsel with a specialty in antitrust cases, was a key figure in McNeil v. NFL, Brady v. NFL, Fraser vs. MLS, Jenkins v. NCAA and currently Morgan vs. U.S. Soccer Federation. While he was at Weil, Gotshal & Manges from 1977-2003, Meyer worked with him on several cases.

MLBPA Executive Subcommitee

Eight players sit on the union executive subcommittee and supervise negotiations: Yankees pitchers Zack Britton and Gerrit Cole, Houston catcher Jason Castro, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, free agent pitchers Andrew Miller and James Paxton and free agent infielder Marcus Semien.

Britton, Cole, Lindor, Paxton and Scherzer are represented by Scott Boras, baseball’s most powerful agent.

Castro, at $3.5 million, is the only one of the eight who earned under $12 million this year. Just 86 players among 1,695 who played in the major leagues this season earned $12 million or more as of Aug. 31, including prorated shares of signing bonuses.

National Labor Relations Board

Lauren M. McFerran (chairman), Gwynne A. Wilcox and David M. Prouty are the three Democratic appointees on the board, and John F. Ring and Marvin E. Kaplan are the Republican appointees.

Prouty served as chief labor counsel of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 2008-13 and general counsel from 201317, when he was replaced by Ian Penny. There is conflicting opinion whether Prouty would recuse himself from matters involving the players’ association.

Jennifer Abruzzo

Began work as NLRB general counsel on July 22 after she was appointed by President Joe Biden to a four-year term. Previously worked for the NLRB for more than 20 years.