Ending 26 years of “labor peace,” Major League Baseball is in the midst of a national lockout. With league owners failing to address the core contract issues raised by the Major League Baseball Players Association, the previous collective bargaining agreement expired at the beginning of this month. In an open letter to baseball fans, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated, “Despite the league’s best efforts to make a deal with the Players Association, we were unable to extend our 26-year-long history of labor peace and come to an agreement with the MLBPA before the current CBA expired. Therefore, we have been forced to commence a lockout of Major League players, effective at 12:01 am ET on December 2.” Has the league made its “best efforts” to bargain in good faith? Were wealthy team owners really “forced to commence a lockout”? It sure doesn’t look that way…

In this episode of Working People, we’re joined by Alex Bazeley and Bobby Wagner, hosts of the podcast Tipping Pitches, to break down the labor politics in today’s MLB and what the lockout means for players and fans alike.