Game fees.

[Pensaump]

Originally Posted by BuggBob

Are you guys kidding? No game no fee, that makes total and complete sense. If I hire the kid next door to mow my lawn , he gets paid when the lawn is mowed. If he starts and does not finish because of weather, sorry kid no pay. If I hire a guy to paint my house, fix my plumbing, wash my car, serve me a meal at Red Robin -- same deal, no work (or incomplete work) no pay. How can I require a standard from others, but not hold myself to that same standard. While we usually don't get paid on site (with very few exceptions) we wont get paid for any game that is weathered out before official. I have umpired a contest that was stopped in the fourth because of rain -- no pay. I have shown up at the field for a game to have the field rained out at game time -- no pay.

While I value much of what I read in these forums, Getting paid for no work is one topic which we may disagree. I fully expect some to take great offence at my stand on this topic -- this is the way it is done here, I expect it is done differently elsewhere. But I think the assigner mentioned by the original poster is right.

Welcome to America where all opinions are received and encouraged.

I don't post much, but I have to step in and say something about this...

But what if you changed your mind and never told the lawn boy, painter or etc... that you didn't want them to do the job now once they showed up.

I'm in 3 associations. All 3 have the same policy. You show up, you get paid at least one game fee. Double header pay is reduced to single pay + travel. Our contracts with the schools require 4 hour notice for game cancellations and weather cancellations. Although this is not always enforced in more local assignments (which is fair) and enforced harder for long distance travels for other schools.

The coaches and AD's have the weather channel, weather.com and weather on their cell phones just like we do..... If they want to take on the chance of the rain and decide to have the crew still show up and then bang it before the game starts, we get paid.

Hell even the youth ball association here has the same policy.... The guys that run the youth league call in one of the associations I'm in and do a good job of implementing this policy as well to their youth association.

Same principle really as dentist, doctor, vet cancellation fee's... They did no work but still charge you for YOU not showing up...

If I'm going to set my time aside to WORK a game and then THEY cancel it, I'm getting paid. I could have gone in and picked up an extra shift at work and etc... One of my umpire buddies owns his own business and TAKES OFF EARLY from work when he goes to umpire games. He already takes a pay cut to umpire vs. his normal job!!! And now you don't want to pay anything at all???