Minor leaguers form union, 17 days after organizing began

By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 5,500 minor league baseball players have formed a union, completing a lightning-fast organization campaign that launched just 17 days earlier in an effort to boost annual salaries as low as $10,400. Martin Scheinman, the sport’s independent arbitrator, notified Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association that a majority of the 5,567 players in the minor league bargaining unit had signed union authorization cards since the drive started Aug. 28. He did not provide the sides a specific number. MLB had agreed Saturday that it would voluntarily accept a union if there was majority support.