2006 Minor League Baseball Umpire Strike - Causes

Causes

The primary impetus for the strike came from AMLU's distaste for its umpires' salaries. Though they have always been rather low in accordance with PBUC's idea that umpiring is not a proper career, AMLU insisted that they had become too low. Umpires in Minor League make “15,000 at Triple-A, $12,000 at Double-A, and $10,000 in full season and $5,500 in rookie leagues over a 142-game schedule,” said Associated Press and Jeffery Lane of In These Times. This is just a fraction of the salary for Major League umpires, who make anywhere from $84,000 to $300,000 annually for their schedule of 162 games. This disparity could be because of the difference in salary between Minor and Major League Baseball players. The money flowing into the major league is much greater than that which is flowing into the Minor League. Many Minor League umpires require an extra job or even two during the off-season to make ends meet. This situation may not always be tenable, however, as the difficulty of the on-season schedule prevents the umps from maintaining their second job during the baseball season. This leads to a challenge in finding a steady job with an opportunity for advancement.

The strike began when irked umpires filed a lawsuit with the National Labor Relations Board Florida against PBUC in mid-March on the grounds that PBUC threatened to fire those umpires who decided to strike. There was some speculation that the AMLU union umpires intended to strike in early 2006, just after their contracts expired in late 2005. However, the rumors turned out to be insubstantial. When it was time to renew the expired contract, the AMLU umpires demanded salary increases which the PBUC was unwilling to pay. It was decided then that the umpires would go on strike. The umpires refused to report for Spring Training, marking the beginning of their official strike of 2006. The first game of Minor League Baseball on Thursday, April 4, 2006 began with a replacement umpire.

The umpires demanded a $100 per day salary increase and a $10 per diem increase. In the 2000 contract which AMLU initially signed with PBUC, the rookies were getting paid $1800 per month and the senior umpires were getting paid up to $3400 per month. This salary was not enough, considering that their schedule only lasts for 5 to 6 months, leaving their annual salary at a meager $15,000-$20,000.

Per diem rates ranged from about $20 for rookies, up to $25 for senior umpires. According to AMLU, the per diem rate in the 2000 contract was completely inadequate to meet the needs of umpires. Because the umpires spend the 5-month season on the road, living in hotels and eating in restaurants, their daily food and gas expenses could not be met with the 2006 per diem rate first proposed by PBUC.