The World Umpires Association (WUA) is an organization of Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires. It was certified by the National Labor Relations Board on February 24, 2000 as a bargaining agent. It took over as bargaining agent for MLB umpires before the 2000 MLB season, replacing the Major League Umpires Association (MLUA), which dated back to 1970.
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Formation
The MLUA, led by longtime negotiatiating attorney Richie Phillips, was decertified by its member umpires (by a vote of 57 to 35) in February 2000, after Phillips' strategy of mass resignations in September 1999 backfired, with MLB simply accepting many of the resignations and promoting new umpires from the minor leagues. The WUA was created immediately afterward. Its first president was working umpire John Hirschbeck, who held the position from 2000 to 2009. He was replaced by Joe West in February 2009.
In December 2009, the WUA reached an agreement with MLB on a five-year labor agreement, to run through December 2014 – members of the union voted to ratify the contract in January 2010. A new labor contract was subsequently ratified in January 2015 and will run until the end of 2019.
Leadership
As of 2014, board members Joe West (President), Fieldin Culbreth (Vice-President), and Jerry Layne (Secretary/Treasurer) make up the executive board for the union. Mike Everitt, Sam Holbrook, Jeff Kellogg, Dan Iassogna, Phil Cuzzi, and Mike Winters comprise the remainder of the governing body. All members of the governing and executive boards are active umpires. Legal counsel for the WUA is Brian Lam of Lam Legal, of Washington, D.C.