Less than a year ago, Phillies and Mets minor leagues playing in High A banded together to protest working conditions and wore #FairBall wristbands from Advocates for Minor Leaguers during a game in Brooklyn.
Those same minor leaguers are now part of a union. On Wednesday, an arbiter validated minor league unionization cards. With MLB’s voluntary recognition, minor league players are now officially part of the Major League Baseball Players Association. They have technically formed their own separate bargaining unit, but minor leaguers will have the MLBPA’s resources at their disposal while negotiating the first ever collective bargaining agreement between minor leaguers and MLB.