Just like that, minor league baseball players are part of the MLB Players Association. That happened so fast.
Jeff Passan with the confirmation:
To say this is significant is quite an understatement, as this was something that was long believed to be critically necessary for minor league players to actually get a fair shake in terms of their treatment … but also long believed to be something that would be terribly difficult to pull off. I suspect the combination of the lockout, Congress/DOJ looking at MLB’s antitrust exemption, and the previous contracting of the minor leagues all contributed to this coming together as quickly and comprehensively as it did.
Next steps? Figuring out how the actual collective bargaining will go. Although the minor league players are now represented by the MLBPA and part of the union, they aren’t automatically parties to the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, for example. The plans on that front will have to be sorted out, and I think what will happen is that the sides will start talking about plans for their own CBA, perhaps, in the months ahead.
For the first time in history, minor league baseball players now have collective bargaining rights.
UPDATE: Tony Clark released a statement, and MLB confirms the news, indeed saying work on a new CBA will start soon: