High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 1999 Major League Umpires Association mass resignation was a labor tactic used by the Major League Umpires Association (MLUA) against Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1999. Unable to strike because they had a labor agreement in place at the time, more than 50 umpires resigned in an attempt to force negotiations with MLB for a new labor agreement. However, MLB accepted the resignations of 22 umpires and hired new ones. The union membership became fractured on the issue, and 42 of the umpires tried to rescind their earlier action, but the MLUA was unable to retain the jobs of the 22 umpires whose resignations were accepted. The incident led to the decertification of the MLUA and the formation of a new union, the World Umpires Association (WUA).