SURPRISE, Ariz. — Texas Rangers third baseman and union representative Josh Jung said Wednesday that players must remain “unified” in a period of strife for the association.
Major League Baseball Player’s Association executive director Tony Clark resigned Tuesday after an investigation revealed an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, a union employee, ahead of what’s expected to be a tenuous labor negotiation.
Jung, who replaced right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning as the club’s player representative last year, said that every member of the team’s 40-man roster received a text message from the union “around the time” that ESPN reported Clark’s resignation Tuesday morning. The union’s leaders held a call that afternoon and Jung said that there has been “ongoing communication” about a vote to decide Clark’s replacement. He isn’t sure when that will take place.
“We just want to make sure we have somebody in there for the time being,” Jung said. “Because, again, the negotiations coming up are big for us, but the big thing is for all of us players to be on the same page. This is a good time for us to sit down and talk about it.”
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The current five-year collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1 and a prolonged labor stoppage is expected. The two sides held a preliminary meeting last fall and are expected to meet several more times before the potential lockout.
“It’s definitely a challenging time for the players,” Jung said. “Ultimately, what’s going to get us through is us just staying together and being unified through this process. It’s not the most ideal situation, but the negotiation coming up in December still remains our priority.”
Clark, who had spent more than a dozen years as the union’s executive director, is also under federal investigation by the Eastern District of New York for allegations of financial improprieties and misuse of union funds.
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