Fellow Umpires,
After taking some time to see what has been written about this subject I feel that I MUST post something. My name is Brandon Leopoldus and I was a Minor League Umpire from 2000-2004. I am proud to say that I was part of the initial vote that ratified the Association of Minor League Umpires with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). I have read all the posts to this point, and I would loke to clarify some things in order. Before I begin, I want to thank Jason for his energy in attemping to answer the questions that have been posted on this forum, all of his answers have been honest, and to the point. Thank you for that buddy!
Flashback to 1999: MLB umpires decide to have a "mass resignation", this was not a STRIKE, it was a negotiation tactic based on the advise of the union lawyer that turned out to be bad advise. THIS WAS NOT A STRIKE, OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF WALKOUT. The result of which was the hiring by MLB of 20+ new full-time members from both the International League, and Pacific Coast League. The question was asked "why didn't the Minor League guys support the Big League union move?" Simple answer. In 1999, there was only talk about a new union for the MiLB umpires in the near future. Nothing had been established, and each umpire that was offered a contract by the AL and NL were to decide for themselves. Perhaps if the AMLU had been formed before this happened, then the result may have been different, but that is speculation.
Second, I know many of the umpires that "resigned" and many that are in the "new" group of 22. Today there is very little antimosity between these groups, outside of personality differences. As umpires, they respect each other and the MLB guys that were let go understand for the most part that the minor league umpires that recieved contracts could not pass up the opportunity to recieve a MLB contract without major strings attached.
Third, a post stated that MiLB guys should realize that it is a special opportunity they have to work rofessional baseball games. I 100% agree with that, and I would say that everyone, including Jason, and myself realize that this is a great opportunity. However, from my research, I have been unable to find a career in the United States with an industry this large that has not recieved a pay increase in 12 years. I believe the minimum wage has increased 5 times in that period, yet MiLB has put pay freezes into place. We all realize that we are very fortunate to work the level that we have, but at the same time we need to be able to support ourselves and families. I was released the day after the 2004 World Series, and currently while still working in baseball in a small capacity, am scraping by more than 16 months later. I had $752.00 in my bank account the day I was released, and I have less today. Not a pitty story, I would not change my career choice, but I want to explain the circumstances. I routinely worked THREE different jobs during the off season, and my BEST year I cleared $20,000 before taxes. Good luck raising a family on $20k.
Ladies and Gentelmen, I realize that many of you think the expereince level in the Minor Leagues is the same as experienced collegiate umpires, and I whole heartedly disagree. At the professional level the communication style is different that in college, and high school. A successful MLB/MiLB must master the proper ways to communicate, and why a manager/player is communicating in a certain way. Arguements in professional baseball are not just about calls they hapen for several reasons.
Another difference in professional baseball is player development. It is detrimental to teams player development staffs to have different umpires on the field. Each team has reports on each umpire, their tendancies, and charts. Umpiring at that level requires consistancy that p.d. staffs can evaluate players performence. If collegiate umpires begin to work higher level Minor League games, the p.d. staffs have to restart this process rather than update information that they have on umpires like Jason.
That is not beneficial for anyone, including the AMLU.
I have been teaching clinics in Colorado for the past seven seasons and most of which, I have set up, administered, and taught for little or no cost. This is something that AMLU members do to help pass knowledge along, not out of ego, but to help out. I recently taught (with several other AMLU memmbers) the Colorado H.S. Baseball Umpire Master Clinic, and it cost the members nothing! We all have friends that are not in professional baseball, and consider them all to be important, and good umpires. We continue to pass on information and help associations to help the people who have helped us.
At this time these same people are asking for your help in supporting their cause. These are stand up people who are sacrificing families, money, and time to go after something they deeply care about. They are not doing this because they feel bigger than anyone, they are doing this for their families, and to make the job less stressful on those families, and themselves.
I ask you as a fellow umpire, whatever you may think or have heard about me, to think about why the AMLU is taking this action. I know that as a former member who has been speaking with other former AMLU memebers, the people who are going to work are 99% not former professional umpires, because we know what the fight is about. I have friends on the MiLB side, and many more on the AMLU side. I just ask that you think about the sides before you accept an assignment.
If you have any questions, I have been throught the full spectrum of the Minor Leagues and had all the experiences from signing th contract, starting a union, fighting for the union, and ultimately being released; please feel free to contact me. Thank you, and may you always be safe!!
Brandon Leopoldus
2000-2004 AMLU/ MiLB umpire
[email protected]
(719)310-4928