{"id":1046980,"date":"2023-03-30T20:48:42","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T20:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/minor-league-baseball-first-union-contract"},"modified":"2023-03-30T20:48:42","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T20:48:42","slug":"minor-league-baseball-players-poised-to-more-than-double-pay-with-first-union-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/03\/30\/minor-league-baseball-players-poised-to-more-than-double-pay-with-first-union-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"Minor League Baseball Players Poised to More Than Double Pay With First Union Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Major League Baseball and recently unionized minor league players working for MLB team affiliates<\/a> reached a tentative deal Wednesday on a historic first collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>

The pending five-year contract is set to more than double the pay of athletes who currently receive poverty wages even though the average MLB team is worth<\/a> more than $2 billion. It comes just months after the MLB Players Association, the union representing major leaguers, successfully organized<\/a> highly exploited minor leaguers who are striving to join their ranks into a new collective bargaining unit.<\/p>

\"Nearly a decade of fighting has led to this, and players have achieved what was once thought undoable.\"<\/p>

<\/span>MLB recognized<\/a> the union's minor league unit in September, paving the way for negotiations that wrapped up on the eve of opening day in the majors and two days before opening day in the minors.<\/p>

Citing unnamed sources, ESPN<\/em>'s Jeff Passan reported<\/a> Wednesday night:<\/p>

After years of disillusionment among future major leaguers about paltry salaries forcing them to work offseason jobs\u2014and coincidentally on the day a judge approved a $185 million settlement<\/a> the league will pay players who accused it of violating minimum wage laws\u2014the parties agreed on a deal that went out to a vote among the union's rank and file and that will need to be approved by owners, as well, before it is formalized. The agreement could be announced officially as early as Friday, the first day of games in the minor leagues.<\/blockquote>

The deal was confirmed<\/a> by numerous<\/a> other reports<\/a> citing league and union sources.<\/strong><\/p>

Unlike now<\/a>, minor leaguers are set to be paid \"for most of the offseason as well as spring training, including back pay for this season,\" according to Passan. He detailed the annual pay increases on social media.<\/em><\/p>

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\\u201cBREAKING: Minor league baseball players\\u2014among the lowest earning workers in America, who are paid as little as $7\/hour by billionaire MLB owners\\u2014have reached a first union contract that would more than double the pay of all players.\\u201d<\/div> \u2014 More Perfect Union (@More Perfect Union)\n 1680143267<\/a>\n<\/blockquote>\n