Dave Prouty
Baseball's players' union is updating its roster with a new general counsel: Dave Prouty, who has been chief labor counsel for the Major League Baseball Players Association since 2008, is coming out of the dugout to be MLBPA GC.
Prouty got the go-ahead sign Wednesday from the organization's executive director, Michael Weiner, who since 2009 has been executing a double-play as both the union's leader and top lawyer. In a statement from the MLBPA, Weiner said, "I am confident that Dave will excel in his new role and that the players will continue to receive the high level of legal representation they have come to expect from their union."
With this promotion, Prouty becomes only the fourth person to serve as GC in almost half a century of the union's existence: Richard Moss, the MLBPA's first general counsel, was active from1966-77; then Donald Fehr had a 27-year streak from 1977-2004; and Weiner held the job from 2004-13. (Fehr is currently the GC for the National Hockey League Players' Association.)
"It's quite a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Dick Moss, Don Fehr, and Michael Weiner," said Prouty in the statement. "I look forward to doing my best to assist the players in the manner set forth by these impressive men."
Before coming to the MLBPA, Prouty spent 22 years as an in-house attorney for UNITE HERE, an international union for workers in the clothing, textile, laundry, hotel, and restaurant industries. He was GC of UNITE HERE from 2001-2008.
Prouty completed his undergraduate studies at Bowdoin College, and earned his law degree at Harvard Law School.
