Stepping Up to the Plate: Minor Leaguers Attempt to Remedy their Unconscionable Plight

Professional baseball players are often thought of as making multi-million-dollar salaries, but most professional baseball players have recently made under $15,000 a year. Minor league players toiled under an onerous system resulting from baseball's judicially created antitrust exemption and lobbying efforts that exempted them from minimum wage and overtime. These factors allowed teams to impose a uniform player contract (UPC) on players with numerous unconscionable provisions for years. However, a late-night Tweet in August of 2022 sent shockwaves through the sports and labor world, announcing that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) was sending out authorization cards to represent minor league players. After years of fighting to maintain the authority to impose conditions on minor league players, through lobbying and litigation, Major League Baseball (MLB) turned over a new leaf and recognized the unionization of minor league players under the MLBPA less than three weeks later. In light of this long sought-after recognition, this article takes a novel approach. First, it provides historical context for baseball's unique ability to impose working conditions on minor leaguers without significant concern for legal ramifications. Second, it provides an overview of the doctrine of contractual unconscionability and analyzes the prior UPC as an unconscionable agreement. Finally, it details the historic unionization process and makes detailed recommendations to ameliorate the unconscionable conditions minor league players have faced when they negotiate with MLB owners to draft their initial collective bargaining agreement.     

纪念香港城市大学合作十周年研讨会发言节选

2019年12月8日国家法官学院与香港城市大学合作办学十年座谈会暨判例法与案例指导制度论坛举行,本刊摘录几位嘉宾的现场演讲,以飨读者。     

印太战略视域下的印法印度洋地区海洋安全合作探析

印度洋地区的海上战略通道价值为世界所公认。世界上一些主要国家提出了相应的印太战略,印度洋地区的海上战略通道价值更为显著。在法国与印度的印太战略框架中,双方都把印度洋地区的海洋安全视为重点。基于印太战略,印度洋地区海上战略通道的安全成为法国与印度共同的战略关注。由于印度洋地区的海洋安全威胁日益复杂,合作是法国与印度维护海上战略通道安全的最好方式,符合双方共同的利益。面对印度洋地区复杂的海洋安全威胁,法国与印度意识到了海洋安全合作的必要性与可行性,并初步建立了海洋安全合作机制。     

Red Tape,Rule Burden,and Legitimate Performance Trade-Offs: Results from a Vignette Experiment

Abstract

Goals in the public sector are complex and managers can face situations in which pursuing one legitimate goal necessitates performance trade-offs in other areas. This study tests how knowledge of legitimate performance trade-offs shapes the perception of red tape. Using a vignette experimental design and a sample of university students, between group t-tests and regression analyses suggest that, when evaluating increased rule burden, individuals that are provided with information about how objectively burdensome rules serve alternative values such as equity and effectiveness associate them with lower levels of red tape. A series of Monte Carlo simulations suggest that this effect is substantial.     

论商标权的权利限制

权利是有限制的,没有无限制的权利。我国著作权法和专利法中就专门规定了著作权和专利权的限制。但我国的商标法中,并没有关于商标权权利限制的明确规定。本文拟探讨商标权限制的理论基础,总结商标权限制的具体类别,完善我国的商标权权利限制制度。     

实施人才战略 大力发展教育

为了建成小康社会、实现中华民族的伟大复兴,就要实施人才战略,大力发展教育.当前要加大对教育的投入,改革教育体制,建立学习型社会;发挥高校优势,大力发展高等教育.     

Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of forensic science casework in the People's Republic of China.

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis for the purpose of individualization is now being used in casework in the People's Republic of China. This report describes the use of the multilocus minisatellite probe 33.15 to solve three cases, including two homicides and a rape. In the third case, fetal tissue was analyzed to prove that the alleged rapist was, in fact, the father. In each case, analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) resulted in a positive match. The probability of chance association of the DNA fingerprint was calculated as 5.6 x 10(-12), which is similar to the figures reported in the literature.