Fall baseball provides a few guarantees for fans, as playoff races, assaults on historical records, and jockeying for draft position typically imbue the last month of the season with an air of certain uncertainty. This year, however, it seems that there is more doubt in the baseball world — and it has nothing to do with the surprising Baltimore Orioles. In recent weeks, Major League Baseball (MLB) has been hit with labor relations developments which have come at them faster than a Jordan Hicks fastball: from the Players Association joining the AFL-CIO, to the unionization efforts of their minor league counterparts, to a $185 million settlement in contentious FLSA litigation, baseball as we know it is in for some major changes. What do employers need to know about these developments?
AFL-CIO and Major League Players Team Up
News broke last week that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), the union representing the league’s players, had joined the ranks of the AFL-CIO, adding their numbers to its more than 12.5 million worker roster. While the MLBPA traditionally outsources its legal issues to outside law firms, joining the AFL-CIO places major league ballplayers in concert with workers from all walks of life, from the Actors Equity Association to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
The move to the AFL-CIO also protects the MLBPA from other unions which may try to organize minor league baseball (more on that below). Overall,...
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