Scab Umpires

[Clint Lawson]

We have not refused to work these games. We are ready to go to work tomorrow. We don't have a labor contract. We have tried to settle this since October. MiLB is the ones holding this up. Would you go to work without a contract.

Clint Lawson
[email protected]

[jwwashburn]

Originally Posted by Clint Lawson

We have not refused to work these games. We are ready to go to work tomorrow. We don't have a labor contract. We have tried to settle this since October. MiLB is the ones holding this up. Would you go to work without a contract.

Wow, gotta love union speak.

The employer offered you a contract. You refused to accept it. That is what the word means. It is a free country. They say how much they are willing to pay for a job and you decide whether or not you want that job. All of the AMLU guys, so far, have said no. Other guys have said yes.

I totally understand that you want a contract that gives you more compensation-good luck on your goal. You have every right to demand that.

But to say that you have not refused to work is absurd.

Joe

[PWL]

Originally Posted by jwwashburn

Wow, gotta love union speak.

The employer offered you a contract. You refused to accept it. That is what the word means. It is a free country. They say how much they are willing to pay for a job and you decide whether or not you want that job. All of the AMLU guys, so far, have said no. Other guys have said yes.

I totally understand that you want a contract that gives you more compensation-good luck on your goal. You have every right to demand that.

But to say that you have not refused to work is absurd.

Joe

Yo JoJo,

When these scabs start working under the same conditions the AMLU guys did, then let them decide if the job is right for them. Wait, they can't do that. They would have to much to lose like wages and benefits from their regular employers. Something the AMLU guys don't really have.

Wow, gotta love Joe talk!!!!

You must be dizzy from talking in circles. BTW-Why does it bother you so much that they refused the contract that was offered them. Take that silver spoon out of your mouth and sign up for MiLB duty and see America. I'm sure your employer won't mind. Maybe it would make for some good reality TV.

[DG]

Originally Posted by PWL

The interviewer's reply would probably go like this, "Sorry, we don't have any openings for you and your salary expectations. We are going to hire someone much younger who is willing to work for much less. It's basically the same job you were doing, but we're going to go with the less qualified person to cut costs.

Can you say "age discrimination lawsuit?"

[DG]

Originally Posted by Clint Lawson

We have not refused to work these games. We are ready to go to work tomorrow. We don't have a labor contract. We have tried to settle this since October. MiLB is the ones holding this up. Would you go to work without a contract.

Clint Lawson
[email protected]

I have gone to work for 29 years without a contract.

[AMLU]

Originally Posted by Clint Lawson

We have not refused to work these games. We are ready to go to work tomorrow. We don't have a labor contract. We have tried to settle this since October. MiLB is the ones holding this up. Would you go to work without a contract.

Clint Lawson
[email protected]

How many people in the real world have contracts, Cliff? Name me the upper, middle and lower level corporate workers who have assurances that they will be hired even for one more day?

You bought into a union. You are now in the acting like union members. That's what you bought into and the hopes are that in this union there will be power.

It ain't happening, Bro. If they take you back, and I think in my MiLB experience they will, it will be on MLB terms with minor concessions for the sake of appearance.

I understand your frustration not first hand but only by hearing about it from many of my MiLB friends. You are underpaid, overly abused, and overworked.

All of which became self-evident in your fisrt year in MiLB.

Here's a real world clue. Get your head out of your ***, start thinking about the fact that you will never be a MLB ump and deal with it.

[Clint Lawson]

AMLU,
Give me a call. My number is on the website.

Cliff

[lds7199]

Originally Posted by Clint Lawson

I'm reading that the reason people are working minor league games because we(the minor league umpires) are working HS/College games. There are 4 minor league umpires in my city. We are not working games, so why are people working ours?

Clint Lawson
[email protected]

Because they are not "your" games anymore. You have chosen not to work. So, the people that you are speaking about are working "their" games, not "yours".

[WhatWuzThatBlue]

Originally Posted by Clint Lawson

We have not refused to work these games. We are ready to go to work tomorrow. We don't have a labor contract. We have tried to settle this since October. MiLB is the ones holding this up. Would you go to work without a contract.

Clint Lawson
[email protected]

I respect your position, but millions of people work without contracts. In fact, the majority of work done in this world is performed by laborers without guarantees.

The irony of this situation is not lost on many of us. Umpires are supposed to act in the best interest of the game. No one promised a path to the Show. I've written it before; your union continues to call replacement umpires 'scabs'. It seems fitting to tag the AMLU gang as 'apprentices' or 'students' then.

No one promises a musician, artist or tradesman that they will make it big. They recieve peanuts for performing their masterpieces. There aren't very many professions that reward mediocrity without the benefits of a union.

Consider those in the armed forces; many joined with dreams of wearing a star or two or three on their hat some day. They recieve the same pay that guys did ten years ago and get treated pretty poorly. They receive training in return for their investment. Oh, many have families to support and bills to pay too. These young men and women are making a sacrifice in hopes of a better job at the end of their commitment. PBUC is very similar - you are thrown in the trenches and asked not only to survive but to perform exemplary. In time, you will get noticed, promoted and move up the chain. The average time is seven years - you either make it or break it. Seven years isn't a career and many guys never make it out of A ball.

I do wish you luck in finding games that weren't previously assigned to others (I know you would never accept those assignments). I don't know you, but wished that you would have listened to some of us that walked there before you. Yes, the conditions are tough but the dream is now gone. You will probably be the best trained amateur umpire in your area next year. Andy and his brass will still be wondering what happened. This was really a sad tale - you should have taken the small increase and realized that many of us never even received your salary. Pride should have taken a back seat when the other guy is holding a Royal Flush. Good luck with the future and I hope that you understand that very few of us wanted this to happen.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by WhatWuzThatBlue

I respect your position, but millions of people work without contracts. In fact, the majority of work done in this world is performed by laborers without guarantees.

Millions of people that belong to unions do. And when they do not work with a contract they strike, get locked out by management or threaten to walk off their jobs. You claim to be from Chicago, the CTA threatened the same thing about a month or two ago (walk off their job) for similar reasons that the Minor League umpires have walked off their job. Or what about the numerous teacher's strikes or threats of strikes in this area the past 4 or 5 years (Proviso and Downers Grove school districts just to name two)? I guess those facts just seem to be missed by the likes of you. Oh well, what else is new.

Peace

[WhatWuzThatBlue]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Millions of people that belong to unions do. And when they do not work with a contract they strike, get locked out by management or threaten to walk off their jobs.

What language is that? It looks like another case of Viagra addiction for the Wheaton Warbler.

Millions of people that belong to unions and realize the potential for their jobs. The AMLU gang considers what they do to be a career. Even the MLB guys say that is not the case. If you don't get the call within seven to ten years, you are done. That is not a career by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, according to PBUC, one out of every twenty AMLU members actually has a shot at making it to AAA.

Most of us were addressing Clint's proposal that he couldn't possibly work without a contract. Sure he could, he just needs to notify the union that he is remanding his membership and go join the other recent graduates who are working. By the way, how come the AMLU guys are calling the recent pro school graduates 'scabs'? By their very logic, they earned the right to work those games.

Originally Posted by J.Rutledge

You claim to be from Chicago, the CTA threatened the same thing about a month or two ago (walk off their job) for similar reasons that the Minor League umpires have walked off their job. Or what about the numerous teacher's strikes or threats of strikes in this area the past 4 or 5 years (Proviso and Downers Grove school districts just to name two)? I guess those facts just seem to be missed by the likes of you. Oh well, what else is new. Peace

I live in the suburbs of the Chicago metropolitan area. I never claimed to be born here, in fact, I was raised in another state. Both have been mentioned here numerous times. Get your facts right, then try again.

The CTA are a typical, greedy Chicago union. They want more money and benefits to sit on their asses all day. Most of them have less education than the average Malamut. I wish they had walked out. They have nothing in common with the baseball umpires of our minor league system.

You must have missed my posts about how my granddaughter's school district went on strike a few years ago. Replacement teachers were brought in and they did the job while the regulars paced back and forth asking for more. (I think there is a website that details Illinois teacher salaries; check it out and see how much they need to go on strike next time.) You really should do some fact checking before you keep embarrassing yourself.

I applauded the fact that a few brave souls crossed the teacher's line and focused on the bigger picture. The same goes for the PBUC umpires. The league has decided that the replacements are doing a pretty nice job considering the fact that they are being taunted by a few idiots.

Speaking of those guys, the AMLU website has continued to highlight photos of the replacements. They publish names and make it easy to locate these guys. Just to be fair, I Yahoo'd a couple of them and left messages of support. If the AMLU gang thinks that being professional means tearing apart another working umpire, then they are really professional. Keep up the good work gang, I hope none of those guys ever becomes your boss. I loved the photos of the bench clearer the other night. My memory is a little foggy, but I recall a few last year when they wre in charge. I guess that is part of the whole 'selective memory' ideology. You should feel right at home, Rut.