Minor league baseball players officially form union, 17 days after organizing began

The Major League Baseball Players Association became the bargaining agent for more than 5,500 minor leaguers on Wednesday, completing a lightning fast organization campaign that launched just 17 days earlier.

Minor leaguers, who earn as little as $10,400 per season, are expected to negotiate for an initial collective bargaining agreement during the off-season.

"This historic achievement required the right group of players at the right moment to succeed," union head Tony Clark said in a statement. "Minor leaguers have courageously seized that moment, and we look forward to improving their terms and conditions of employment through the process of good faith collective bargaining."

MLB had agreed Saturday that it would voluntarily accept a union if there was majority support and would not force players to petition the National Labor Relations Board to hold a representation election.

"Major League Baseball has a long history of bargaining in good faith with unions, including those representing minor and major league umpires, and major league players," the league said in a statement. "Based on the authorization cards gathered, MLB has voluntarily and promptly recognized the MLBPA as the representatives of minor league players. We are hopeful that a timely and fair collective bargaining agreement will be reached."

Minor leaguers form a separate bargaining unit within the MLBPA, which negotiated its first collective bargaining agreement for big leaguers in 1968. Approximately 1,200 major leaguers are covered by the big league agreement, and their average salary has risen from $19,000 in 1967 to more than $4 million this year.

Minor leaguers are expected to choose player representatives who will lead them in bargaining during