In Memoriam: Baseball Labor Pioneer Marvin Miller
Friday, November 30, 2012(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Marvin
Miller (right),
the labor leader who built the Major League Baseball Players Association into
sports’ most powerful union, died Monday. He was 95. Imagine a time when a
professional baseball player was technically "owned" for life by his
team and couldn't play for any other team unless the change was approved by his
owner. Professional athletes had few rights beyond whatever their owners
granted them—low pay, weak pensions, no real compensation for the
wear-and-tear
on their bodies, no freedom of movement or ability to determine where they
lived or for what team they played. The system made team owners very wealthy
off the hard work of the players without allowing the players to share in the
revenue their efforts produced. Marvin Miller took over the Major League
Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) in 1966 and developed it into the most
powerful union in sports. During that time—and in the years after—Miller's
efforts also led to a total overhaul in the way that sports teams treated
players and thus led to a revolution in professional sports. “Marvin
exemplified guts, tenacity and an undying love for the players he
represented,”
said DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFL Players Association,
affiliated with the Metro Washington Council. “His most powerful message was
that players would remain unified during labor strife if they remembered the
sacrifices made by previous generations to make the game better. His passion
for the players never faltered, and men and women across all sports are in a
better place thanks to his tireless work.” Click here to read Kenneth Quinnell’s full post on the
AFL-CIO
Now blog. -
photo courtesy thanksmarvin.com