June trial poised to be a home run for minor league players

The start of the 2022 baseball season has renewed the interest of fans, as it marked the end of an extensive lockout between the owners and major league players. It would have been easy for even the diehards to miss the critical developments that concurrently took place in federal court in March regarding the employment status dispute between minor league players and Major League Baseball (MLB).

The long-running class action is Senne et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball et al., 3:14-cv 00608, (N.D. Cal). Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero in San Francisco provided some relief for the plaintiffs in March, when his summary judgment found that minor league baseball players in the United States are year-round employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

This acknowledgment from the jurist positions minor league players and counsel for a long-overdue victory that will protect the plaintiffs’ rights and secure a pay grade commensurate with their baseball talents. As the plaintiffs warm up for the June 1 trial, let’s review the exploitative practices that have been exposed, and what the minor league players’ legal options would be if they are successful in court.

Senne was filed in 2014. Obviously, taking on an institutional giant like the MLB was destined to be slower than replacing a pitcher, mid-inning, during a summer double-header. Fortunately, the March summary judgment was the rally thousands of grossly underpaid minor leaguers needed.

There are 30 MLB franchises, represented each by four teams (one for each class) in the minor league system. This totals 3,480 players among 120 minor league teams. The states with the most teams are Florida, North Carolina, and California, which are respectively home to 12, 10, and 9 minor league teams.

The average MLB team is valued at nearly $2 billion. Yet owners pay their thousands of minor leaguers a salary ranging between $400 to $700 per week during the regular season and playoffs, despite being required to perform services year round. Ultimately, the players who embody the future of the game earn an annual salary of between $4,800 and $15,400. They also live in terrible conditions, are served awful food, and most work extra jobs to get by.

These low wages were a catalyst for bringing other injustices to light. In October 2021, ESPN.com reported that the total cost for a team to house all minor league players at home for one season was less than $1 million – a fraction of the $2 billion valuation mentioned earlier. Yet the players were still expected to foot their own bill for lodging – and, in some cases, would have to bunk up – ultimately stomping their net pay to near or below the Federal poverty line of $12,880.

The MLB tried throwing another curveball during the Winter 2022 lockout with the Major League Baseball Players Association by proposing a deal featuring flexibility to decrease the number of domestic players with minor league contracts. The Players Association rejected the proposal – possibly because the major leaguers remember where they came from. Their decision was widely lauded.

Back in the courtroom, Judge Spero also found that the MLB was a joint employer of the minor league players. As reported in March by The Daily Journal, it means the organization can be held liable for alleged offenses. For example, if a player is injured by a fan or vice versa, the MLB may also be a defendant in the claim.

Most importantly, there is an acknowledgment that minor league players are working sometimes 12 hours a day – during training and their regular season – and must be compensated for travel time on the transport to away games.

Spero wrote: “These are not students who have enrolled in a vocational school with the understanding that they would perform services, without compensation as part of the practical training necessary to complete the training and obtain a license.”

Should the verdict favor the plaintiffs in Senne, it will finally provide the players in the U.S. with the right to a year-round living wage for their exceptional and growing athletic skills.

Unfortunately, players with minor league contracts are not covered by collective bargaining, which is why a win for the class could present the opportunity for unionization.

Unions in minor league baseball have been prevented for decades due to MLB’s exemption from federal antitrust laws, which does not apply to any other sports league or industry. Minor league hockey (PHPA), basketball (BPU) and soccer (USLPA) players all have union representation and therefore have a say in how they are treated and compensated.

In the absence of a union, minor league baseball players have had advocates who have emerged in recent years – particularly in response to reports of mistreatment in the way of lodging, housing, and stipends by some major franchises.

In addition to MLB players, a nonprofit founded in 2020 by former players sought to provide a collective voice for minor league players with the goal of securing equitable pay and ending exploitative working conditions. The Advocates For Minor Leaguers proposed a Bill of Rights inspired by feedback from players in the farm clubs of the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Angels. Below are some of the key and stunningly pragmatic requests:

· Pay weekly salaries all year round. No periods of free work.

· Provide or cover the cost of in-season housing.

· Provide or cover the cost of three meals per day during the season.

· Provide multiple buses on road trips and sleeper buses on overnight road trips.

· Assist players in shipping their cars to a new affiliate if reassigned and assist players without a car in getting to the field each day.

· Cover the cost of offseason training.

These accommodations are certainly reasonable and should be paid by multibillion-dollar MLB franchises. Considering the organization and impact of the Advocates For Minor Leaguers and other advocacy groups, the key elements for unionizing minor league players exists.

How a union bargains and may evolve will depend on many factors – from the economy to public health crises. The union lawyer can help guide its development, but cannot lead it. Creating and organizing a union of minor league players is unique because – just like sports in general – so much depends on leadership. The leadership among the advocacy groups seem stable, as they have the shared goals of equitable pay and conditions. Furthermore, many of the leaders are former players who understand the business of sports and are willing to fight to better ensure the mental, physical and financial health of the players.

The chances of being drafted to the majors in baseball is incredibly slim. How our minor leaguers get there should not be overlooked, nor should the players’ employment status and working conditions. Payment in promises is an outdated practice, and depending on the outcome of Senne, may eventually be unlawful. With many thousands of fans showing up and paying to watch tomorrow’s stars, why should any of these professional athletes live below the poverty line? Hopefully, that line is about to get obliterated.