Congress introduces act to lower minor-league salaries
Two members of the United States Congress want to help minor-league teams survive while keeping player wages low.
Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) introduced the "Save America's Pastime Act" Wednesday, which aims to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to exclude minor-league clubs from having to pay players minimum wage or overtime pay.
Minor-league baseball welcomed the news, saying the act could help save small affiliated clubs money and prevent them from possibly folding.
"Minor League Baseball would like to thank Congressman Guthrie and Congresswoman Bustos for their leadership on this issue facing Minor League Baseball and for gathering bipartisan Congressional support," MiLB President & CEO Pat O'Conner wrote in a statement. "For over 115 years, Minor League Baseball has been a staple of American communities, large and small, and with the help of Congressman Guthrie, Congresswoman Bustos and other members of Congress, it will remain so for years to come."
The reaction to the proposed legislation has not all been positive, though. Most minor leaguers, save for those who have big-league service time and are a part of the MLB Players' Association, don't make a lot of money during the season.
One lawyer who's running a class-action suit for several ex-players against Major League Baseball (which controls affiliated minor-league clubs and player salaries) that's trying to increase player pay in the minors, had particularly harsh words for a bill he says would do incredible harm to players.
"It's despicable," Garrett Broshius, who played five years in the minors himself before turning to law, told Ryan Fagan of the Sporting News about the bill. "You have billionaire major league owners working with millionaire minor league owners to add to their pockets more, and at the same time you have minor leaguers who are making below the poverty wage.
"You're talking about a group of guys whose salaries start at $1,100 per month, and they’re only paid during the season. They're not paid during spring training. They're not paid during instructional leagues."
Broshius' lawsuit alleges that minor-league salaries range from $1,000 a month at the lowest level to $2,150 a month, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Minor-league clubs don't have to pay players minimum wage thanks to being part of the MLB tree, which is protected from the FLSA standards by a longtime antitrust exemption.