{"id":60994,"date":"2018-03-20T11:41:37","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T11:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=60994"},"modified":"2018-03-20T11:41:37","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T11:41:37","slug":"mlb-reportedly-lobbying-congress-keep-minor-leaguers-earning-minimum-wage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/mlb-reportedly-lobbying-congress-keep-minor-leaguers-earning-minimum-wage.html","title":{"rendered":"MLB is reportedly lobbying Congress to keep minor leaguers from earning minimum wage"},"content":{"rendered":"

MLB is reportedly lobbying Congress to keep minor leaguers from earning minimum wage<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

All over Florida and Arizona this spring, some of the best baseball players on the planet are essentially doing volunteer work in the service of cash-flush Major League organizations: Though spring training is a mandatory part of a player\u2019s route to the Majors, minor leaguers do not get compensated for the seven-day weeks they work honing their skills in spring training. Though some top-flight international and domestic prospects receive seven-figure signing bonuses, the standardized salary scale for players in their first pro contracts means most of them make less than fast food workers earn on both an hourly and yearly basis, and less than the national minimum wage established by the Fair Labor Standards Act.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, two Congresspersons \u2014 both of whom received campaign donations from MLB\u2019s PAC \u2014 introduced an MLB-supported bill called the \u201cSave America\u2019s Pastime Act\u201d to exempt the league from the terms of the FLSA. Press materials supporting the bill suggested that paying minimum wage and overtime pay to minor leaguers would bankrupt beloved minor league teams, but Major League organizations pay the salaries of their minor-league players. One of the bill\u2019s sponsors pulled her support for it after backlash over its misrepresented premise, and it ultimately went nowhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

But now, according to a report from Mike DeBonis in the Washington Post, the league could score a similar exemption thanks to a provision in an upcoming government spending bill. DeBonis writes:<\/span><\/p>\n

A massive government spending bill that Congress is expected to consider this week could include a provision exempting Minor League Baseball players from federal labor laws, according to three congressional officials familiar with the talks\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

(Minor League Baseball president Pat) O\u2019Conner said the litigation underway represents an existential threat to minor league clubs, which could see their business model upended if courts rule that players must be paid according to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Post\u2019s whole report is worth a read. The litigation referenced in the excerpt above \u2014 a lawsuit first filed against MLB and its teams in 2014 and currently hung up in the appeals process over its class-action certification \u2014 names 45 current and former minor league players as named plaintiffs and will include over 2,000 more if it maintains its class-action status. Last year, Kyle Johnson, a minor league outfielder since cut from the Mets\u2019 organization, became the first active player to speak out on his involvement in the case in an interview with For The Win.<\/span><\/p>\n

Former minor league pitcher turned attorney Garrett Broshuis, who is representing the players in the suit, spoke to For The Win by phone on Monday in the wake of the Washington Post report.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re trying to back-door it into the spending bill,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s all happening in secret, behind closed doors, so we have limited knowledge just like everyone else has limited knowledge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With no specifics on what\u2019s to be included in the spending bill, Broshuis would not speculate about its potential impact on the future of the lawsuit. Minor league players, understandably, remain reluctant to attempt to unionize or even speak out on behalf of their wages. But salary growth in the minors over the past 40 years hasn\u2019t even been nearly enough to account for inflation, and Broshuis says he knows players are keeping tabs on the litigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have players who routinely reach out to me,\u201d he said. \u201cThey realize it\u2019s a problem; this is not something that has developed overnight. It\u2019s the result of MLB and teams ignoring minor leaguers for decades now, to the point where they are paying sub-minimum wages. It\u2019s difficult for guys to rent an apartment and pay the bills. Guys realize something needs to be done, and they\u2019re hopeful something will be done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-http:\/\/ftw.usatoday.com\/2018\/03\/mlb-minor-leaguers-congress-spending-bill-fair-labor-standards-act-minimum-wage-salary<\/span><\/p>\n

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