History
The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players. Earlier attempts had included:
- Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players - 1885 (founded by John Montgomery Ward)[11]
In 1898, Baltimore Orioles players John McGraw, Hughie Jennings, Joe Kelley, and Willie Keeler discussed the formation of "mutual defense organization" analogous to a trade union and meant to protect the interests of the players.[12]
- Players' Protective Association - 1900[13]
- Fraternity of Professional Baseball Players of America - 1912
- National Baseball Players Association of the United States - 1922 (founded by Raymond Joseph Cannon)
- The American Baseball Guild – 1946 (founded by labor lawyer Robert Murphy)
Leadership
Pre-unionized
President
- Bob Feller: 1956–1959
Executive Director
- Frank Scott: May 1, 1959 – 1966
Unionized
Executive Director
| Executive Director | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Ken Moffett | December 9, 1982 – November 22, 1983 |
| Marvin Miller (interim) | November 22, 1983 – December 9, 1983 |
| Donald Fehr (acting) | December 9, 1983 – December 1, 1985 |
| Donald Fehr | December 1, 1985 – June 22, 2009 |
| Michael Weiner | June 22, 2009 – November 21, 2013 |
| Tony Clark | December 2, 2013 – present |
The Marvin Miller era (1966–1983)
The organization that would eventually become the MLBPA was conceived in 1953, but it was not officially recognized as a union until 1966. That year the newly recognized union hired Marvin Miller from the United Steel Workers of America to head the organization, serving as executive director until 1983. During Miller's tenure, base salaries, pension funds, licensing rights, and revenues increased.
In 1968, Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the team owners, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000 per year.[14][15] The 1970 CBA included arbitration to resolve disputes.[13] The major leagues saw their first player strike in 1972, in opposition to the owners' refusal to increase player pension funds.
In 1974, when Oakland owner Charlie Finley failed to make a $50,000 payment into an insurance annuity as called for in Catfish Hunter's contract, the MLBPA took the case to arbitration. The arbitrator ruled that Hunter could be a free agent.[16]
When pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally had their 1974 contracts automatically renewed by their teams, the MLBPA supported them by challenging the reserve clause which was used by team owners to bind players to one team. On December 23, 1975, arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled in favor of the players. Following the Seitz decision, the modern free agent system was created, and the strength of the union was immeasurably increased.
Players and owners failed to come to terms over free agent compensation, which led to another strike in 1981. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the MLBPA filed collusion charges, arguing that team owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement in the 1985–1987 seasons. The MLBPA won each case, resulting in "second look" free agents, and over $269 million in owner fines.[17]
The Donald Fehr era (1985–2009)
After Miller retired, Ken Moffett became the new executive director in December 1982, but in November 1983 he was dismissed, and Marvin Miller was named interim director. Donald Fehr was named acting director in December 1983. Miller supported a strong antidrug policy, whereas Fehr opposed penalizing players.[18]
The MLBPA under Donald Fehr filed several grievances against MLB owners. In the late 1980s MLB owners were accused of collusion to prevent player salaries from rising. The MLBPA filed grievances against the owners in 1986 and 1987. In 1987, arbitrator Tom Roberts found that owners had violated the terms of the Basic Agreement with players later being awarded a total of $10.5 million. In 1989, arbitrator George Nicolau found that owners had violated the Basic Agreement on the second grievance with players awarded $38 million.
In 1988, the MLBPA filed another grievance against the owners for colluding to control player salaries. The MLBPA claims that the owners created an information bank to share information on players and restrain salaries. The MLBPA won this grievance in 1990 with a settlement being reached to award players a total of $280 million in damages for the collusion.
Under Fehr the MLBPA dealt with a 32 day lockout by MLB owners. Also under Fehr, the Players Association participated in a 232 day players strike in 1994 over player salaries. While Fehr was MLBPA director player salaries rose from an average of over $400,000 to $3 million. The Collective Bargaining Agreements in 2002 and 2006 were reached without a strike by the players or a lockout by the owners. This was a period of 16 years without labor disputes by either side.
Donald Fehr was also a contributor in the creation and developing of the World Baseball Classic, an international tournament for baseball. In 2009, Donald Fehr resigned from the position of director, while the players selected Michael Weiner to take his place.[19]
Recent history
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Donald Fehr joined the MLBPA as general counsel in 1977 and was named executive director in 1985, leading it through the 1994 Major League Baseball strike and recent issues. On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced he would step down, and after a transition period and was replaced by the union's general counsel, Michael Weiner.[20]
On November 21, 2013, MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner died after a 15-month battle with a non-operable brain tumor. He was 51 years old. Tony Clark, the deputy executive director, was named executive director on December 2, 2013, the first former major league player to hold the position.[21]
In 2016, the MLBPA celebrated its 50th anniversary as a union, commemorating the event at the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game with a redesigned golden logo and merchandise such as T-shirts.[22]
Basic agreements
In 1968, the Major League Baseball Players Association negotiated the first-ever Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in professional sports. Several agreements have been negotiated since the original agreement, the latest of which expired on Dec. 1, 2021.[23] The expiration of the CBA resulted in the first player lockout since 1990.[24] All transactions are halted as a result of the lockout and players are forbidden from contacting team officials until a new agreement is reached.
