Major League Baseball will voluntarily recognize a union for minor league players just days after the unionization effort began.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred revealed on Friday that the league would allow the formation of a new bargaining unit, according to multiple reports, under the umbrella of the Major League Baseball Players Association, which this week was pushing for the MLB to make such a recognition.
The push for unionization came in recent days but has attracted outsize support among players, according to the union.
The MLBPA had sent out union authorization cards to minor league players in order to gauge their interest in unionization. Just 10 days after mailing, the amount of support for organizing was well beyond the threshold of 30% that was needed to proceed with the effort.
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYERS VOTE FOR UNIONIZATION WITH MLBPA
A union news release earlier this week said that the number of minor league players in support of joining the union had grown far beyond that 30% threshold to a “significant majority.”
“Minor league players have made it unmistakably clear they want the MLBPA to represent them and are ready to begin collective bargaining in order to positively affect the upcoming season,” MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark said.
Unionization would grow the MLBPA ranks and result in the association representing more than 5,000 U.S. players. The Washington Examiner contacted the MLBPA for comment about Friday’s development.
The effort is part of a larger wave of unionization that is spreading across America.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Several companies, including Starbucks, Amazon, Trader Joe’s, and REI, have faced labor movements at various locations over the past year or so. Some 200 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize just since last December.
The public’s support for unionization has also increased, with a new Gallup poll finding over 70% of people saying that they approve of unions. The total is up from 48% in 2009, and the approval rating is now the highest it has been since the 1960s.
