A player lockout puts Major League Baseball’s labor issues on full display

Ending 26 years of "labor peace," Major League Baseball is in the midst of a national lockout. With league owners failing to address the core contract issues raised by the Major League Baseball Players Association, the previous collective bargaining agreement expired at the beginning of this month. In an open letter to baseball fans, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated, "Despite the league's best efforts to make a deal with the Players Association, we were unable to extend our 26-year-long history of labor peace and come to an agreement with the MLBPA before the current CBA expired. Therefore, we have been forced to commence a lockout of Major League players, effective at 12:01 am ET on December 2." Has the league made its "best efforts" to bargain in good faith? Were wealthy team owners really "forced to commence a lockout"? It sure doesn’t look that way…In this episode of Working People, we're joined by Alex Bazeley and Bobby Wagner, hosts of the podcast Tipping Pitches, to break down the labor politics in today's MLB and what the lockout means for players and fans alike.Additional links/info below...Tipping Pitches website, Twitter page, and fan shop:https://pod.link/1265588219https://twitter.com/tipping_pitcheshttps://tippingpitches.myshopify.com/Alex's Twitter page: https://twitter.com/a_bazeleyBobby's Twitter page: https://twitter.com/bwagsDayn Perry, CBS Sports, "MLB lockout: Fact-Checking Commissioner Rob Manfred's Open Letter to Baseball Fans": https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-lockout-fact-checking-commissioner-rob-manfreds-open-letter-to-baseball-fans/James Wagner, The New York Times, "M.L.B.’s Lockout: What Is It? How Does It Work? What’s Next?": https://www.nytimes.com/article/mlb-lockout.htmlNathan Kalman-Lamb & Dirk Hayhurst, Jacobin, "'Inside the Game, You Are Still a Commodity'": https://jacobinmag.com/2019/03/minor-league-baseball-pay-laborWorking People, "Mini-cast: Suicide Squeeze (w/ Nathan Kalman-Lamb)": https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93b3JraW5ncGVvcGxlLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz/episode/MWUxZWMwZTFlZTFlNDAxZWE3MzQ4M2FkYjQ2MTg1ZTU?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiwx8jJg-L0AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQCg&hl=enKellogg's strike links/info below...Working People YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7bOmS4Ohll4C10ZX-lsGlgLook for updates on the Dec. 17 livestream/fundraiser on the Working People Twitter page and Morning Riot Twitter page:https://twitter.com/WorkingPodhttps://twitter.com/morningriotpodMaximilian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “Breakfast of champions: Kellogg's cereal workers strike for employees who have been left behind”: https://therealnews.com/striking-kelloggs-workers-show-the-country-what-solidarity-looks-likeMaximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "How companies like Kellogg’s are weaponizing the courts to break strikes": https://therealnews.com/how-companies-like-kelloggs-are-weaponizing-the-courts-to-break-strikesMel Buer, The Real News Network, “Kellogg’s strike: Cereal plant workers fight to raise the floor for all employees as sales soar”: https://therealnews.com/kelloggs-strike-cereal-plant-workers-fight-to-raise-the-floor-for-all-employees-as-sales-soarMel Buer, The Real News Network, “Kellogg’s strikers hold the line and prepare for winter”: https://therealnews.com/kelloggs-strikers-hold-the-line-and-prepare-for-winterSahid Fawaz, Labor 411, "Five Ways To Support The Kellogg Strike": https://labor411.org/411-blog/five-ways-to-support-the-kellogg-strike/Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org):Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song"Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!