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Old Fri May 12, 2006, 09:48pm
BlueLawyer BlueLawyer is offline
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Join Date: May 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NIump50
Where is the outrage?
Of all those in the umpire community the MLB umps know better than any one the poverty level pay scale, terrible work conditions, inordinate amount of unpaid overtime via extra inning games and the constant verbal abuse the MiLB are subjected to.
Most MiLB members and supporters want to condemn the so called 'scab' who more than likely is a middleaged man of moderate income with a family to support. The $100 he earns at this level far exceeds the $40 or 50 he normally gets and all the money he gets from umpiring will end up being eaten up by the family budget. (I'm speaking generally, not universally) So the money he earns goes towards raising a family. You also have the thrill factor of umpiring a professional game in front of thousands, that's something few umpires ever have the privelege of experiencing. But the replacement is a scab and worthy of all our disdain and hatred as well as deseving of being blackballed within our community.
But the MLB ump making $200 Gs is probably the only ump within our 'brotherhood' that can actually make an impact by striking. Why are they crossing the picket line(so to speak) and getting a free pass while Joe ump realizes a dream very few get to experience and is demonized for it.
If anyone is a scab in this it's the fat cat umps at MLB.
If you want to argue that it's not their fight then how can you argue that it's the fight of any replacement.
Why isn't the MiLB demonizing the MLB for not supporting the 'brotherhood'?
MLB has much more in common with MiLB than any 'amateur ump'

I think referring to the replacements as vultures is ridiculus if you don't also have just as much disdain for MLB for their lack of support.
Huh?

Anti-AMLU talking point number 10- It's the MLB umpires' fault. After all, if they were making comparable to what AAA guys make, nobody would want the job. And if THEY went on strike, why what a fine kettle of fish baseball would be in!

Forget, of course, that striking in the middle of their contract without good legal grounds (and I don't think this qualifies) would give MLB THE perfect excuse to fire them. And if you don't think they would, I suggest you look closely back at the last 30 year history of baseball and umpire labor relations. Heck, look back at the last 100 years of baseball/labor relations. You may cuss unions, you may cuss player and umpire salaries. The fact is, folks, baseball is a profitable business, on the whole. Not every team and every owner makes money, but most do, or billionares wouldn't keep buying clubs.

I didn't like Curt Flood because I was and am a Phillies fan. But he was, in the end, right. And so are the AMLU guys. We can live with the current system, for fans, players and umpires, or we can go back to Charles Comiskey.

What is it, precisely, that you would have WUA do? Strike too? (Bad pun.) You can't have it both ways. You can't say on the one hand that MiLB and MLB are different worlds with different conditions and then turn around and blame the MLB umpires for going to work. The MLB guys starts- STARTS- at more than 5 times the maximum a AAA umpire makes.

My point, such as it was, was in response to WWTB or DIV2 or the numerous other people on this board who think that AMLU is wrong, at least tactically to strike because of the hundreds if not thousands of other, just as qualified
umpires out there just itching to take their places. Argue logically. Please. Leave the bait and switch off of this board.

Strikes and outs!
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