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Welpe
I face your issue in an almost identical situation.
During the 39 years that I have umpired high school baseball I had two employers that flat refused me the opportunity to umpire. It was all schedule oriented:
"Tee, our office is open till 5 O'clock and I expect ALL my employees to be here until then."
That edict restricted me to working summer games only that have later start times.
I now have an employment opportunity that I am committed to the office for 12 hours a day -- HOWEVER -- by using the following sales device I am allowed the ability to tweak my schedule enough to work "some" high school baseball.
I went to my employer and showed him that what I am doing is a service to the community. Working high school baseball for me is the same as working as a volunteer at a local food bank or counseling center.
By the time I leave work early (I am an hourly employee), drive to my game (gas last week went for $3.41/gallon for regular), buy my equipment and pay my assigning fees I PAY to work games.
I documented how short we were for umpires in my area and how it effected the scheduling of games.
He agreed that what I was doing was supplying a low cost volunteer service to an important segment of our population.
I used my comp time/vacation time to umpire twice a week. This means that get only 20 high school games (regular season) and 2 or 3 playoff opportunities but at least I get to work.
My suggestion is to explain to your employer that your job is the most important thing in your "personal life" and would like to strike some type of an agreement so you can offer your services to your community.
Regards,
Tim Christensen
National Federation of High Schools
Publication Committee
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