The minor league baseball season started off with a walk-off homerun when the Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU) signed up with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU).
Members of the AMLU, which was formed in 2000, voted 91 percent in favor of affiliation. The organization, which represents 215 minor league umpires, will be known as AMLU/OPEIU Guild 322. The “322” stands for “3 balls, 2 strikes and 2 outs!”
“Our affiliation with OPEIU is the next step in a profession towards improving the lives and working conditions of some of the hardest working and most underappreciated people in the Game,” said AMLU/OPEIU 322 President Shaun Francis.
In addition to their regular duties, minor league umpires are required to fill in for ill, injured or vacationing full-time Major League umpires.