What was the union doing to discourage replacement players?
The union has ordered replacement players to show cause or be denied membership in the union. Non-members are ineligible to participate in the union’s licensing deals, and thus do not receive licensing money. For example, Strat-O-Matic Baseball is licensed by the union; non-members have cards with blank names. Non-members are still governed by terms of the union contract, such as health benefits. The union threatened to decertify agents who represent replacement players; this would forbid the agents from representing union members. In response, many agents announced that they would terminate relationships with their current clients if the clients worked as replacements. It is in the interest of agents as a group that the players do well in the strike, because agents receive a percentage of the salaries they negotiate. However, individual agents could be tempted to represent strike-breakers for short-term gain, just as individual players could work as strike-breakers. The union defines
