NPC Newsmaker: Major League Baseball Players Association’s Tony Clark, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to discuss MLBPA’s growing role in the labor movement

Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), will speak at a National Press Club-sponsored Headliner event on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m., in the club’s Holeman Lounge. Clark will be joined by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. The two labor leaders will discuss recent initiatives and alliances that have thrust the MLBPA to the forefront of sports news this year.

This week, the MLBPA, which represents the 1,200 players on the rosters of all 30 Major League Baseball teams, distributed union authorization cards that would allow the nation’s 5,000 minor league baseball players to vote on joining the union. The Senate Judiciary Committee has suggested it would call a hearing to explore the treatment of minor leaguers and the MLB’s antitrust exemption.

Remarks from Clark and Shuler will be followed by a question-and-answer session moderated by National Press Club past president Jonathan Salant, Washington correspondent for NJ Advance Media. To submit a question via email, put MLBPA in the subject line and email to [email protected]. 

Clark has served as the executive director of the MLBPA since 2013. Earlier this year, he led negotiations that resulted in higher wages and other significant gains for his members, achieved only after a 99-day lockout by the team owners. During his own major league career he played for six teams over 15 seasons, retiring following the 2009 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks. A switch-hitter, Clark finished his career hitting .262/.339/.485 with 251 home runs and 824 RBIs in 1,559 games. He hit 30 or more home runs in four seasons.

Last year, Liz Shuler became the first woman to lead the AFL-CIO, the nation’s labor federation comprising 56 national and international unions.

This Headliners event is open to credentialed media and club members, but REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. This event is both in-person and viewable via livestream on the club’s website at www.press.org.