Federal budget bill includes changes that impact minor league baseball wages
Major League Baseball and Congress would seem like they are worlds apart, but not so.
Why was minor league baseball impacted when President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion budget bill last wek?
Some provisions in the bill are well-known with items like the border wall, gun reform and health care. The spending bill includes a provision called the “Save America’s Pastime Act” that exempts pro baseball players from federal labor laws.
Minor league players are paid by the Major League Baseball parent club, not the minor league team they play for.
This all started after minor league players began suing Major League Baseball for paying them what they feel are illegally low wages.
The league then turned to Congress with the argument that following federal pay rules would result in higher bills for minor league teams and that minor league players are essentially seasonal workers.
Under the law, players are exempt if they are working under a contract that pays minimum wage.
A minor league baseball player is now guaranteed a minimum salary of $1,160 a month when before it was $1,100 a month.
The contract only has to pay minimum wage for a 40-hour work week during the season.
That excludes spring training or the offseason and the law includes no guarantee of overtime, even though baseball players routinely work long hours.
Jim Paul, was the owner of the El Paso Diablos when the team was a double A affiliate to Major League Baseball teams.
He’s seen first hand the grueling journey of a minor league baseball player.
Paul says when he was the owner, nobody was making minimum wage, but they were close to it.
“You got to give them a chance to survive,” Paul said. “They got to pay for apartments, they got to pay for what they eat, transportation and stuff like that.”
Paul agrees minor league players should be paid more, but it’s also part of the baseball journey.
“You’re 19 years old, you’re 20 years old, as long as I can eat and bunk in an apartment with 3 other guys I’m going to play this game just for the dream of getting there.” Paul said.
