Minor leaguers to vote on authorizing MLBPA as union representative

Minor leaguers have been sent out a voting card from the Major League Baseball Players Association to authorize the player's union as their collective bargaining representative, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark confirmed on Sunday night.

The move marks a monumental step for minor leaguers, who have been unable to collectively bargain for things such as their payment, housing and name, image and likeness.

Clark said that player's union is moving forward with a vote because they heard from enough minor leaguers about the desire for union representation.

«Over the course of the last few weeks and really over the course of the last couple years has been a buildup of players offering their voices and their concerns with Advocates for Minor Leaguers continuing to echo and aggregate those voices in a way that have gotten us to this point,» Clark told ESPN.

In order for the MLBPA to represent minor leaguers in collective bargaining, 50 percent or more of players will need to vote that they want union representation. If more than 50 percent of minor leaguers choose for union representation, the National Labor Relations Board will require Major League Baseball to recognize the union. MLB and the MLBPA would then need to collectively bargain for minor leaguers.

According to Clark, the MLBPA moved forward with this vote to potentially represent the minor leagues after it was authorized by the player's union leadership. According to multiple league sources, every minor league team across America has player representatives who are distributing the voting cards to teammates to organize the vote. This logistical coordination was organized by Advocates for Minor Leaguers, who has three player outreach coordinators regularly speaking