Union chief Fehr retires

He led the baseball players’ association for 25 years.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Fehr announced his retirement Monday as head of the baseball players’ association after a quarter-century marked by a strike that canceled the World Series, record salaries and finally 14 years of labor peace.

Fehr, who turns 61 next month, said he will leave the powerful union no later than the end of March. Fehr recommended that he be succeeded by union general counsel Michael Weiner, the No. 3 official and his longtime heir apparent. The move is subject to approval by the union’s executive board and possible ratification by all players.

“I have no hesitancy in recommending to the players that he be given the opportunity to do this job,” Fehr said.

The 47-year-old Weiner will lead negotiations for the next contract; the current labor agreement expires in December 2011.

Weiner and Steve Fehr, the union leader’s brother, were the primary day-to-day negotiators of labor contracts in 2002 and 2006, baseball’s first since 1970 that were achieved without a work stoppage.

“I think I have some sense of what I’m getting into,” Weiner said.

As part of the succession plan, Weiner met Monday in the union’s conference room with Fehr and the 92-year-old Marvin Miller, Fehr’s predecessor.

“I think that he’s a bright guy,” Miller said in a telephone interview. “He’s certainly not lacking in experience. He’s got the background for it.”

Fehr headed negotiations for five labor contracts plus a divisive August 2002 drug agreement that was revised three times under congressional pressure. He decided he didn’t want to negotiate the next labor contract in two years and wanted to give Weiner lead time.

“After a while, it wears you down,” Fehr said. “I think it will be good for everybody.”

Weiner has been with the players’ association since September 1988 and has been its general counsel since February 2004. The No. 2 official is Gene Orza, the chief operating officer.