Over Friggin' Nickels
In a world of $3.00 gas and $10.00 burgers, can minor league umpires live on $25.00 a day? While the Minors burn, with stats dropping and fights causing teams to be pulled from the field, Minor League Baseball and the AMLU try to make a line call on what's a living wage.

Mike SCANDURA
MinorLeagueNews.com

With the umpires returning to the bargaining table today, but no sign of resolution in sight, the strike by the Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU) continues to take its toll on the replacements as much as on the games they call.

"I was talking to one of the gentlemen that are filling in and I asked him 'How is it going?'" related An International League manager requesting anonymity. "He said 'I'm really struggling trying to keep up with the speed of this game.' "

There is no trouble keeping up with the negotiations to end the strike. The Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation (PBUC) - a subsidiary of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) and the AMLU are stalled after the union roundly rejected the PBUC’s offer of a 12% raise and other benefits.

Nobody who enters a minor league ball park is getting their money's worth as "incidents" witnessed by fans, managers, and players alike are dampening player performances and altering the outcomes of games from coast to coast.

The AMLU was formed in 1999 and signed its first contract with the PBUC in 2000. The agreement called for a pay scale of $1,800 per month for a new umpire in a short-season rookie league to $3,400 per month for senior umpires at the Triple-A level.

Per diem ranged from $20 per day for Class A and below to $25 per day for Triple A.

AMLU umpires entered the 2006 season without having received a raise in either category since the organization's inception.  They voted to strike. They are seeking a $100.00 per month raise and $10.00 per diem increase for their daily road expenses. Minor League Baseball's last offer was $100.00 per month and $1.00 per diem.

In an era of $3.00 gas, $2.50 cups of coffee, and the $10.00 burger, the umpires requests appear modest. Yet the PBUC, which takes its marching orders on things financial largely from Major League Baseball, seems to want to pinch that penny until it bleeds.

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