One of these lockouts occurred at the start of the 1995 season and lasted for more than 80 games per team before the sides reached a collective bargaining agreement.
This went against common practice and brought objections from the umpires and MLUA leadership,[2][3] which believed that the collective bargaining agreement was being violated.
One involved Tom Hallion, who was suspended for three days by NL president Leonard Coleman after bumping a player.
[2] Another regarded the amount of pay owed to umpires who officiated the exhibition games between the Baltimore Orioles and Cuban national baseball team.
Richie Phillips, the MLUA's leader, announced on July 15 that 57 umpires would resign, effective September 2.
[2] According to umpire Dave Phillips, the resignations were intended to force negotiations with MLB to gain a new contract, effective at the start of 2000.
[2] The union intended to have the leagues negotiate in the future with a newly formed corporation, to be created after the mass resignation occurred.
A different approach was required for the National League, which received one batch of rescissions; it opted to use "performance standards" in deciding which umpires to rehire.
The MLUA then returned to U.S. District Court three days later, in hopes of obtaining an injunction against the leagues' acceptances of the resignations.
Instead of the quick ruling the union was seeking, Judge J. Curtis Joyner desired negotiations between the sides, which he oversaw.
In negotiations for a new labor agreement, which was signed in September 2000, the MLUA turned down an offer from MLB owners that would have seen 13 umpires brought back.
In late 2004, a labor agreement between MLB and the MLUA gave jobs back to three more umpires, while the remaining six gained severance pay.
[28] One side effect of the WUA's formation was the end of separate umpiring staffs for the American and National Leagues.