Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jiggy
I believe this is very much NOT a union vs. non-union issue. I believe there are any number of amateur guys and even ex-pro guys who have the feeling of "how dare they" regarding the fact that the AMLU has demanded better for themselves and asserted that they are worth it. I have personally heard from amateur umpires the feeling that "they don't appreciate what they already have" and "they knew what they were getting into." There are some ex-pro guys who are of the mind "why should they not have to go through what we went through?" I understand these feelings, but not the inability to think above this emotional level. This is the natural evolution of things, and better for the game and umpires overall. Why shouldn't they ask for better? Is there anyone saying they already have it good? These young men have worked hard and made great sacrifices to do what they are doing. They have a right to get what improvements they can get. Why fault them for that, or worse work against them?
|
I think you are wrong.
We just think they should have known what was going to happen. There is all this mean spirited talk of "scab" this, and "scab" that, and it gets old really fast. These games were going to get umpired one way or the other, and despite all the complaining by the coaches and players, they really wouldn't care if their grandma umpired the games, as long as they got to play. If this were not the case, the players, managers, coaches, vendors, announcers, and all team personnel would be on the line with the AMLU guys. But they aren't, which means they are actually siding with management, to even be putting up with the obviously inferior umpiring.
It isn't that we don't want the pro umps back. Of course we do. We all think that they are grossly underpaid. They deserve much more in the way of salary, benefits, per diem, insurance and everything else it takes to make a good living. But running around hollering "scab" at the replacements isn't going to help solve a damn thing. Management does not seem to be in any hurry to make a move to solve the problem, so we will all just have to wait and see how the whole thing plays out. In the meantime, we should resist the urge, as difficult as that is, to lash out at each other over this issue.