Minor league players sue Major League Baseball over wages
San Francisco Chronicle / 10-20-15
Minor-league baseball players can proceed with a class-action lawsuit — potentially representing thousands of present and past ballplayers — that accuses the major leagues of violating minimum-wage and overtime laws by dictating meager salaries that don’t cover spring training or offseason conditioning, a federal magistrate in San Francisco ruled Tuesday.
U.S. Magistrate Joseph Spero granted preliminary class-action status to a suit against the commissioner’s office and 22 of the 30 major-league teams whose minor-league affiliates have some contact with California and therefore are within his court’s jurisdiction. Although teams’ policies vary somewhat, and some players make more than others, Spero said, the players’ allegations, if proved, could show that their rights were uniformly violated.
Spero, summarizing claims in the players’ suit, said that under major-league rules and the minor leagues’ uniform contract, minor-leaguers “are required to work without compensation during the offseason, play six to seven games a week and engage in protracted travel during the (regular) season without receiving overtime, and adhere to the same grueling daily schedule on game days without receiving minimum wages.”
The lawsuit, filed by 43 former minor-league players, said the 6,000 current minor-leaguers are paid on a fixed scale that starts at $1,000 a month at rookie leagues and rises to $2,150 for Triple-A leagues, one level below the major leagues.
FULL STORY: http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Minor-league-players-sue-Major-League-Baseball-6580031.php
Also from the link:
• Revenue for MLB (30 teams) totaled $7.5 billion in 2012.
• Major-leaguers’ salaries have increased by more than 2,000% since 1976 (free-agency) while minor-league pay has risen by 75%, less than one-fifth the inflation rate.
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Another Bud Selig Production
