The Major League Baseball Players Association and team ownership have come to an agreement on a new labor contract, ending an owner-initiated lockout that has been in place since December 2nd.
The lockout started as a result of a breakdown in negotiations between team owners and the MLBPA. Disagreements over terms centered around minimum salaries, service time calculations, postseason structure, and adjustments to taxes on team payrolls, with team ownership refusing to bargain for over a month when their demands were not met.
An announcement made last Tuesday that the league’s opening day had been canceled in response to the stalemate brought both sides quickly back to the table. Ownership presented an offer yesterday afternoon, with the MLBPA voting to ratify the agreement by last night.
The director of the MLBPA said in a statement that persevering through the lockout brought needed improvements to the players in the sport: “Our union endured the second longest work stoppage in its history to achieve significant progress in key areas that will improve not just current players’ rights and benefits, but those of generations to come. Players remained engaged and unified from beginning to end, and in the process reenergized our fraternity.”
The final tally was 26 yes votes to 12 no votes, 6 votes above the requisite 20 vote simple majority threshold needed to approve the agreement. Within the overall tally, all 8 of the union’s executive subcommittee members voted against the agreement.
Opening day has been rescheduled to take place on April 7th, according to league officials.
This is Sean Hagerup, reporting for Madison Labor Radio.
