[SanDiegoSteve]

Okay, this is how it is:

People with strong union backgrounds in their families or personal lives tend to support any and all unions, simply because they are unions. They support all strikes against the big, bad, unfair meanies in management, regardless of their merit.

People with non-union, or even more so, anti-union stances are not supposed to have an opinion when it comes to the issue of unions. Not being union members, why how could they possibly relate to the plight of labor in these cases? So, the union supporters tend to disregard anyone with an opposing viewpoint. They are just ignorant and uninformed "scab lovers" with no clue.

The unions I am familiar with here in San Diego have gone on strike, and not garnered much support from the non-union public. The "scab" labor comes in, management thumbs their noses at the union members, the union reps end up getting much less than they wanted at the bargaining table, and the workers return to work with their tails between their legs. This is the exact pattern of events in the grocery workers' strike we had here recently.

The bottom line is, while unions have done magnificent things for all workers over this nation's history, there are times when striking is not effective. I feel this is one of those times.

Nobody twisted the MiLB umpires' arms to accept the slave labor wages they get paid. If you want a shot at the majors, then this is the only road leading there. Take it or leave it, that's what management's position is. You are there to prepare yourself for a possible career in baseball, which is not in the minor leagues.

I wish that the management would pay the minor league guys a heck of a lot more than they do. The wages are deplorable. It is downright sinful to expect these guys to try to live on this paltry sum of money, and lack of decent benefits. However, these umpires did agree to these terms when they signed their contracts, and I think that is the issue that the non-union and anti-union crowd is pointing out. I also think that striking right now will hurt their chances of bringing a change to the system, rather than help them.

Here is the view from non-union laborers: If a non-union employee told his boss he wanted x-amount more money or he was going to walk, the boss would gleefully tell him not to let the door hit him in the butt on the way out.

This is why non-union employees have little sympathy for strikers, because they can't strike themselves. They can't completely understand the concept of accepting a contract, and then saying the contract isn't good enough anymore. That strategy worked for Terrell Owens, because their was another team that wanted him. Dallas said sure, T.O., we'll pay you the money you wanted in Philly. There is no other team for these umpires, so their threats aren't taken seriously.