The Umpires Settle -- and Lose

Thought of the Week: The Umpires Settle -- And Lose

22 Resigned umps paid until end of season; arbitration only way to keep their jobs

New York, September 2, 1999 -- The Major League Baseball Umpires Association, fighting from a position of weakness because of the hubris of their leader, attempted to save face by accepting a settlement" with Major League Baseball that will terminate 22 of their breathren who resigned, but pay them for the rest of this season. The league will pay the 22 umpires $847,375 total for the "remaining quarter," based on the total salaries of $3,389,500 paid over a 12-month period on the first of each month. The 22 umpires will also share in the post-season bonus pool, according to the New York Times. The umpires' will have a right to air their claims for reinstatement to an arbitrator after the season. A successful ruling is their only hope for reinstatement. Finally, the union agreed to drop its unfair labor practices lawsuit in federal court in Philadelphia.

The story of how union leader Richie Phillips got his people into this mess by overplaying his hand is well-known (click here). This deal is a fig leaf that papers over the fact that baseball management enhanced their power over the umpires by the union practically giving it to them.

An attorney for the union claimed that Commissioner Bud Selig "quashed part of the agreement under which he could have directed the use [of] any or all of the 22 umpires during the remainder of the season and the post-season." If that is true, it simply is harsh medicine.

It's Leverage, Stupid

A Detroit News columnist wrote that baseball should have done the "decent" and "noble" thing in keeping the umpires on the job. He added: "Of the 22 who are being let go, way more than half deserve better than the banishment they face" Maybe so. But a resignation is a resignation and to play chicken by using such a strategy served as a slam-dunk victory for management.

First, baseball broke an aggressive union with notable success. Under Phillips, umpires received considerable increases in wages and benefits over the last 15 years. What makes the victory sweeter is that it did so as a reaction to the union strategy. The union is fragmented and the future of Phillips' leadership and the very existence of the union is unclear. The firing of Phillips and/or the decertification of the union are distinct possibilities. The Met's pitcher Orel Hershiser, on Fox Sports Network: "I'd like to see Richie Phillips take the bullet for this one, and maybe submit his resignation in exchange for all the umpires' jobs back."

Lastly, baseball finally will get to control the umpires the way it should have in the past. With a new group coming in and the rest (who are working) presumably happy to have their jobs, greater control of the quality of their work can be scrutinized by baseball's Exec Vice-President for Operations Sandy Alderson.

Howard Ganz, the attorney for Major League baseball, reflected on the outcome when he said: "We smoked them." Even Susan Davis, the lawyer for the union, conceded that "[MLB] wanted to send a message: Don't mess with us, or we will mess with you."