WASHINGTON D.C. (WCIA) — An Illinois congressman hopes to score with a new bill in the Capitol designed to protect minor league ball players.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced the Fair Ball Act Wednesday to help players get paid more wages.
The bill would change 2018 Save America Pastime Act to only apply if they are under a collective bargaining agreement. SAPA allowed the MLB to avoid federal labor regulations for minor league players.
“Workers deserve a fair playing field everywhere—including in baseball. Executives at MLB lobbied Congress hard for federal wage and hour law exemptions in order to avoid legal liability with the 2018 Save America’s Pastime Act," Durbin said. "While I commend MLB for voluntarily recognizing the unionization of Minor League Baseball players in 2022, it is time to rollback SAPA in deference to the gains made by that historic unionization."
The legislation is endorsed by the Major League Baseball Players Association, along with the AFL-CIO and the National Employment Law Project.
“For generations, Minor League Players’ working conditions were indefensible,” said MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark. “This indignity was compounded by the perversely named ‘Save America’s Pastime Act’ — a law that was enacted to save money, not baseball, by depriving Minor Leaguers of a minimum wage. By narrowing the Act so that it applies only when players are protected by a CBA, the Fair Ball Act is a win not just for Minor Leaguers, but for the institution of collective bargaining as a whole. The MLBPA strongly supports Senator Durbin’s bill, and we thank him for his work on behalf of Players.”
Durbin said without a union agreement or his proposed bill, minor league players could make less than $8,000 per season, less than half of the money they make under their current contract.
The full bill can be found here.
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November 22, 2024 at 07:37PM
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