The US House of Representatives is currently considering H.R.5580, also known as the "Save America's Pastime Act." The bill seeks to alter language in the Fair Labor Standards act of 1938 to strip Minor League baseball players of minimum wage and overtime protections. This will reduce the already meager pay these athletes receive, and is a transparent attempt to help minimize the investment Major League Baseball has to make in the Minor Leagues.

As I'm sure many of your members are aware, playing in the minor leagues consumes at least as much time and labor power as a full time job, but with very few of the benefits. They subsist on wages that are barely above the currently recognized minimum. If this bill passes, they won't even have that. The bill will even serve to stop overtime pay, meaning that many of the hours spent working will not result in fair pay. It is wage theft, plain and simple.

These players work for the league without collective representation. Therefore it is incumbent upon you, the union representing professional baseball players to take a stand. If this Bill is passed, we urge you to take collective action against the League until they agree privately to offer at least these basic protections to their employees.