KBO Players Vote to Unionize
This should be interesting. Sometimes popularity breeds discontent. Not every sport is like the NCAA, where the schools get all the profit while the players perform for free (well, I suppose the athletic scholarship makes that free statement not exactly correct). In the most successful year for the KBO the players have voted to join the union according to http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2009/12/136_56641.html.
273 of the 530 players attended a meeting to vote on whether to join a union or not. The motion to join a union was approved by a vote of 188 to 17, with 68 players from the Samsung Lions and LG Twins abstaining. Samsung has an anti-union policy so that would be a conflict for the players to be in a union.
The KBO is opposed to the union saying they will not allow a union to be formed by a few ill-intended people that exploit the players. They didn’t provide any proof how these players were being exploited, but I’m certain union dues would have to be paid, so that could be defined as exploitation if those union dues didn’t translate into improved working conditions. Or perhaps they charged admission to the voting and are now hopping around the bars engaging in all sorts of wild debauchery. Sometimes people should think before they open their mouths with accusations and have some facts at their disposal. It is still unclear what kind of exploitation these owners are trying to protect the players from.
Of course, the KBO has to look inward. There is a reason that players decided to form a union. Some of their requests for certain improvements in player conditions were ignored for 24 months. One owner commented that when the teams start making profits then the players can start talking about forming unions, but he claimed that no team in the KBO is making profits. Myworld wonders if the teams are willing to open up their books to share their costs and expenses.
So an interesting confrontation is developing in the KBO. The owners can’t ignore that the vast majority of players who attended voted to join the union. Did those who did not attend vote not to join the union by their lack of attendance. I don’t think a convincing arguement can be made for that. Time will tell where this goes. This is only a first step in the process and the owners can always disqualify the union. But will the better players then choose to play in Japan or the United States where there is a greater opportunity to improve your financial status.