Advocates for lightweight athletes form steering committee to give players voice, promote better conditions

NEW YORK – While Major League Baseball owners and players plan to collective bargain for the terms of their next deal, one group won’t be in those discussions: the ball players. young baseball.

Although Major League Baseball recently announced improved housing conditions at all levels of the minor leagues – including furnished housing – many people in the minor leagues do not believe this. is enough. As a result, on Thursday, juvenile advocates announced the formation of a players steering committee that will provide strategic and leadership advice regarding the labor war. is taking place in order to better facilitate the development levels of baseball.

“The players on the Advocates for Minor Leaguers Player Steering Committee have decades of combined experience in the Minor Leagues,” said Advocates for Minor Leaguers director Harry Marino. “They are thoughtful, intelligent people and committed to improving the game of baseball for future generations. At their meeting earlier today, they decided to make the committee’s existence public and voice their support. for the Major League Players Association.”

The players on the committee will remain anonymous to protect their future job prospects in the sport.

“For decades, our Minor League players have been taken advantage of by owners of Major League Baseball, who have abused their unique exclusive immunity to pay us less than their value. us,” the steering committee said in a statement. “This year, most of us will make less than $15,000. Many of us will be working second and third jobs, struggling just to make ends meet and put food on the table. No need for a table. Arguably, the mistreatment we endure as Minor League players is the most pressing labor issue facing sport.”

Marino says Major League Baseball’s recent concession to improved housing shows that the balance of power is shifting towards newbies.

“There is still work to be done,” said Marino. “Going forward, I look forward to the committee playing an important role in our continued efforts to bring a common voice to Minor League players and improve the working conditions of the Minor League.”

The committee’s first action was to express public support for the Major League Baseball Players Association, whose owners decided to close at midnight Thursday morning.

“The owners who voluntarily decided to close Major League Baseball were the same individuals who abused the legal loophole to pay the Minor Leaguers the poverty level,” the commission said. “As in the past, they use restrictive contracts and collusion to pay the majority of professional baseball players less than their true worth.”

The Commission stated that the uniform contract for minor players – which binds players to the same team for seven seasons and prevents them from seeking higher wages in domestic or international baseball – fundamentally unfair.

“Now that we have found our voice,” the committee said, “we intend to use it.”