Scab Umpires

[PWL]

Mick, Brad.

Make Lard Steve and Haagy stop picking on me. I think I'm going to have a nervous breakdown if they don't stop it. There are big tears all over my keyboard as I type. I think I will have to start my own website where everybody treats me nice and I can tell them what to say and do. So there.

[ump911]

Gentleman, this is simply an exercise in the law of supply and demand. I wholeheartedly believe our MiLB umpire brothers are grossly under compensated for the service they provide. They don't have a contract and have decided to stand together and fight for better. Their problem, and what I think is the problem for umpires in general, is that there are too many people willing to provide the service for the lower wage. These people must realize they will be afforded no protection of a union and are simply "at-will" employees. Same as any employee not in a union. They may endure treatment even worse than the union members by baseball management because there is nothing or nobody to support them. I applaud the striking union members for standing up for a noble cause. My fear is that they are going to be defeated and any hopes for any of them to make it to the major leagues will end prematurely. My hope is that this brings an entire new structure to the system where being a minor league umpire is a career that is fairly compensated, not just an abused apprenticeship to a snow balls chance at the bigs.

Will

[Thatballzlow]

Brother umpires,

I've read the entire thread...wow...talk about fun. Would you like some perspective from someone who actually knows the contract, and knows the situation, and won't call names? Breath of fresh air, eh?

Ok...an umpire in AAA is bound to a MAXIMUM of 3 years at the AAA level before one of the following two things must happen:

1) MLB takes interest in the umpire, and decides that they would like to consider him (or her, since there is a female AA umpire) for a "fill-in" spot with MLB. If they are interested, these umpires generally are assigned to the Arizona Fall League, where they are watched by MLB supervisors over 6 weeks. These games feature some of the best prospects in baseball, and the level of competition is a good as it gets in the minors. They work four man crews and are critiqued after every game and get the dreaded Questec treatment if they work the plate. Questec is not every game, but they generally get it for 2-4 games in the AFL.

2) The umpires that reach a third year and have been shown know interest by MLB are then released from their contracts (and careers) based on the terms of the contract that just expired. It was agreed upon by the AMLU in 2001, so umpires would not be dragged along for the customary 4-6 years, thinking they had a shot, only to be dropped after 12-14 years in the minors.

OK...got that out of the way...NEXT!

As a former minor league crew chief and umpire for over a decade, I know how much I miss umpiring the games. I've heard stories about HS/NCAA umpires and the such that are getting the "chance of a lifetime" to work these games. I can't really blame them. I know how much it meant to me to work in different stadiums with screaming fans...what a thrill! However, consider my three points...and please consider them, since I haven't called anyone names:

1) My chance of a lifetime cost me $6000 to go to umpire school, since I was a two time student (not as good the first time ).

2) I spent over 9 years gone from Mid-March to Mid-September from my home, and in the course of that decade, I missed 10 4th of July's with my family, 10 of my brother's birthdays, and 10 of my own with my family. I'm not complaining...don't get me wrong...it was my choice to sacrifice for a chance to work in the Majors. I came home to my home state for a total of six days in the 10 summers I worked in the minors. SIX DAYS.

3) In the decade plus that I worked, if you take my total salary for that time, I made a little over $100,000 for that time frame. Now think about that...that was 10 years of umpiring for just a little more than 100G's. I also never had a true "full-time" job until I was in my 30's. It's hard to tell someone, "Hey, I'd love that 50K job, but can I leave for six months, then come back for six, then leave...etc." Once again, not complaining, just explaining.

So, the moral of the story is this. While I understand the "chance", I sacrificed a lot more time, blood, sweat, toil, and tears, to deserve that chance, and that is the major problem with the AMLU members who are fired up. I've seen some of them physically ill when they realize someone who just got out from behind their desk after work is making their sacrifices null.

As far as the protest situation in Columbus: How would an AMLU umpire react? A "true" (pardon the generalization) AAA umpire has most likely had that play happen at least twice in his/her career since they most likely have 7-10 years of experience. I know for a fact that I had that same play three times, once with a slightly confused Carlos Delgado down on rehab in the minors. We also run that drill at umpire school over and over, and it is also drilled in our heads with the rules test and other teaching. The thing that should confuse you is not that there was no protest, it was that any umpire, no matter what level, should have known who to call out on that play. Think about it, everyone of you who is posting on here...How did you know that was the rule? Dumb question...because you know your job. What a lot of you may not be aware of is this: If a minor league umpire crew loses a protest, they will be removed from their position by the end of the season. A protest is considered the "death mark;" as an umpire in pro ball, you are expected to know the rules and apply them correctly, since this is your vocation, not hobby.

Last comment for now: It's not a lack of umpiring ability that makes the situations in the minors tough...it's the lack of experience at the levels they're working. I could blow a call, trust me, I have, and get away with it since I knew half the players over my 11 years. When you establish an attitude, repore, and people know who you are, they respect you. They don't respect the replacement umpires because they (players) know we've sacrificed as much as they have.

I appreciate you all for taking the time to read this post, and if you'd like to know more, please respond to my post and I can help everyone understand the feelings of both sides.

Thatballzlow!

[Thatballzlow]

For those of you who were wondering about whether the umpires are a union or not...I can fill you in since I was a member when it started.

In 2001, the National Labor Relations Board formally recognized the Association of Minor League Umpires as the collective bargaining agent of the minor league umpires.

The first contract was approved in spring training of the 2001 season. The original contract, if can believe this, was worse than the first one negotiated by the AMLU in their official capacity in 2001. The first contract I signed in the 90's was one page...ONE PAGE, front and back, that basically gave you a salary, some legal mumbo-jumbo, and a clause that said, "We can fire you for anything...bad mustache, chronic halitosis..." (OK, maybe not that wording, but you get the idea )

The contract was for five seasons, expiring at the end of the 2005 season. They negotiated for six months, and have not come up with a solution yet. Can you imagine why? Therefore, they are a legally established union, recognized by the federal government, and they can legally strike since they are still bound as employer/bargaining group.

I know I'm probably screwing up the legaleze of my statements, but the umpires did not give up they're jobs...that was in 99. LOL

thatballzlow, boys

[PWL]

I wonder how some of these so called "replacement" umpires would feel if their regular 9 to 5 jobs were outsourced to, say India for example. I can see them walk in the job interview and say, "I have 20 years experience doing such and such and when I left I was making over $75,000.00 a year". 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. I would like more than anything to hire you, but I would lose my job and you would be making more than me. Now if you are willing to do the job for half of what the person I'm wanting to hire, we might have a deal. Call me, we'll do the lunch thing".

So what's the call? Fair? Foul?

[jwwashburn]

Originally Posted by Thatballzlow

I appreciate you all for taking the time to read this post, and if you'd like to know more, please respond to my post and I can help everyone understand the feelings of both sides.

Huh? How can you tell us about BOTH sides? When you say "both sides" do you mean the "side" of a former AMLU guy and the side of a current AMLU guy?

Why has the AMLU has decided it is perfectly OK to take College and HS games that "brother umpires" would like to work?

Joe

[PWL]

Originally Posted by jwwashburn

Huh? How can you tell us about BOTH sides? When you say "both sides" do you mean the "side" of a former AMLU guy and the side of a current AMLU guy?

Why has the AMLU has decided it is perfectly OK to take College and HS games that "brother umpires" would like to work?

Joe

Hey JoJo,

They are probably turning back their high school/college games so they can go work the minor league games. You think they're going to work a little varsity game for peanuts when they can go work a minor league game for three times as much. Yeah, right.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by ump911

Gentleman, this is simply an exercise in the law of supply and demand. I wholeheartedly believe our MiLB umpire brothers are grossly under compensated for the service they provide. They don't have a contract and have decided to stand together and fight for better. Their problem, and what I think is the problem for umpires in general, is that there are too many people willing to provide the service for the lower wage. These people must realize they will be afforded no protection of a union and are simply "at-will" employees. Same as any employee not in a union. They may endure treatment even worse than the union members by baseball management because there is nothing or nobody to support them. I applaud the striking union members for standing up for a noble cause. My fear is that they are going to be defeated and any hopes for any of them to make it to the major leagues will end prematurely. My hope is that this brings an entire new structure to the system where being a minor league umpire is a career that is fairly compensated, not just an abused apprenticeship to a snow balls chance at the bigs.

Will

Where have you been? What he said!

[LMan]

Ballzlow:

Thanks for such an informative post. That cleared up a lot of misconceptions for me, seriously. It is truly a longshot to make the MLBs as an umpire, and obviously many good umps will never make it for one reason or another. I respect those who have sacrificed so much for what is almost a lottery's chance of getting to the 'bigs.'

But you have to wonder..why did the AMLU knowlingly sign up for a system structured like this? Is this really the best way to put the best umpires on the field? This arrangement not only specifies poor pay and terrible odds against advancement, it gives the umps almost no leverage.

....shouldn't AMLUs goal for this 'action' be, as others have said, to dismantle this entire system of umpire development and build a better one? I dont see why qualified umpires cannot stay in the minors.....since the turnover at the MLB level is so small, there's always a logjam somewhere.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by jwwashburn

Huh? How can you tell us about BOTH sides? When you say "both sides" do you mean the "side" of a former AMLU guy and the side of a current AMLU guy?

Why has the AMLU has decided it is perfectly OK to take College and HS games that "brother umpires" would like to work?

Joe

I am not sure what world you live in. No one takes assignments from anyone. You are either given an opportunity or you are not given an opportunity. The only people that might be hurt by the Minor League guys coming back are the guys on the margins. The solid to great umpires are not going to be hurting for schedules. Also it is a misconception that many of these guys are coming back in the first place. I have had guys offer to work with me just so they could work and were willing to do it for free (not being paid at all). I also know some guys that are not working anything right now either. I worked with a guy on Sunday that is a current Minor League Umpire and would not be working games until May or June with or without this strike. He was going to work those games whether anyone liked it. The assignor wanted him there and that is where he was. He was also one of the best umpires I have ever seen. Our other partner was a Minor League guy last year I believe and he is working a lot of D1 ball. Guess what, these guys are good and they are going to work because the powers that be will want them there. Remember assignors want to keep their jobs. They want people that can handle situations.

Peace

[wsttxump]

This was posted on another thread. I guess the Minor league guys have changed their minds about taking assignments because the "assignors want them there".

This is Jason Millsap here.

First and formost, I would like to thank Carl for posting this for me, and all of you for your time to read it and your consideration.

I have read through the replies here briefly and wanted to answer one question real quick, as it is 1:30 at night, and I just got in from a four hour road trip after a double header.

As Carl stated, I have always worked amateur games in the time before reporting to spring training. Before getting into the game, I was an amateur umpire for five years, and was already working at the college level before attending umpire school.

As a union, we have discussed in depth, us working amateur games. We have decided, and mandated that we will only work games as a last minute fill in to help out assignors. We will not attempt to pick up games to fill out our schedule while we are on strike, should the need to strike arise. I repeat, we will not take your games.

Our theory on this is simple. If we are going to ask you for your support in not taking our games, we can not, and will not take yours. Plain and simple. If you know of a MiLB umpire who takes games, please contact me personally, and I will look into the situation, and help you out as much as possible.

As a note, I will let you know how I handled this situation personally. I recevied my schedule through March 15th like I have for the last four years. Any dates after that point, I will only accept games that need me to work them due to last minute schedule changes, or cancellations. I will not take games that could be filled by other amateur umpires. I assure you that, and for those that know me, I stand by my word.

After spending the early parts of my career initially learning how to umpire, and the game at the amateur level, I have made many friends at the amatuer level. Many of these I would consider to be some of my best friends. I still have a deep connection, and concern for the game at the amateur level. I take every opportunity afforded to me to give back to amateur umpires, whether it be through watching guys work, speaking engagements, or clinics. I have been given the opportunity to learn many things that most guys don't, and the more of this I can pass on, the better off the game is due to better umpiring.

I will read through the rest of these posts later tomorrow after I have rested and have more time. Until then, if you need to, please feel free to contact me with any questions, or concerns.

I thank you for your time, and your support. I assure you, we will not be taking any of your games at the amateur level due to our inopportunity to work, should it happen. We have been preparing for this possibility both as a union, and individually. We will not hurt your schedule, and hope to resolve our issues and continue on with our careers.

This can only be achieved through your support.

Thanks

Jason Millsap
seeitcallit "at" earthlink.net

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by AMLU

I have no idea what this means.

I take assignments when they are offered. I take assignemnts when I am told where to go and when. I'm sorry if this blows up your statement. Here is an opportunity I give you to or you can call it an assignment, no, you can't my bad, to refute the fact that I take assignments.

My comments were directly to those that have tried to suggest that Minor League umpires are "taking" amateur assignments from amateur umpires.

You may accept assignments that are offered to you by an assignor or fellow umpire, but you are not "taking" them from anyone.

You need to read the comments I am responding to.

Peace

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by AMLU

If there are, say, 100 games, two umpires per game, 200 umpires and each one gets a game, then someone comes along from MiLB and takes one of those games, one umpire gets excluded. The MiLB guy took that game from him.

Assignors make decisions like this all the time. They decide who they need and who new is to take the place of those that die, retire, get fired, screw up and change their availability. According to your logic any newly hired umpire are "taking" assignments away from veterans when they get hired for a new season.

Also let us not exaggerate the situation. I highly doubt that any umpire is taking 100 games from anyone at this point. I know where I live we are scrounging for umpires to cover games. So if there is someone that is not available that would not normally be available at this time of the year, I know of some assignors that would be very happy with the fact that there are qualified umpires available to cover games instead of picking up very new umpires to work games that because of numbers is the only reason they would be working certain games in the first place.

Peace

[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]

[jwwashburn]

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?

Why do you call the Minor League games "yours"? You have refused to work them, so how do the games belong to you?

I am really wanting to see an actual answer to that question without a bunch of "union speak". Someone may have explained it somewhere, but I have not seen it.

Joe