contractor comparison

[concertman1971]

Baseball coach/assignor/program: "hey Mr. Umpire (contractor), we need you for a non conference game on the 12th of whenever and we are paying $3.50 (IYKYK). 

Umpire (contractor): sure, no problem. my partners and I will be there an hour before the game. See you then.

Baseball coach/assignor/program (48 hours before 1st pitch): "Hey Umpire crew, we are going to play 14 innings. See you then" (no mention of $$)

Umpire: (scratches head and wonders) So you want me to do 1.55X the innings for the same rate, and you expect me to just be available for all hours of the day? Well, I guess if that is what you want I better just show up and work all 14 innings and just take it or I may never get games again.

---------------

Husband and wife in house" Hey Mr. Carpenter, we need our bathroom remodeled.

Mr. Carpenter: Sure, I can do that for $3.50 (again, IYKYK) and i can do it on the 17th.

Husband and wife to Mr. Carpenter on the 17th: Since you are here, and the downstairs half bath is also our bathroom, you will need to remodel it as well. Its only a half-bath so it is east and you are already here.

Mr. Carpenter: (peeling out in his truck)....AUDIOS *&%#@ !!!!!!

Why do we let these guys walk all over us? What we permit, we promote. Please push back. Just like when we let a coach scream and yell or we dont call a balk, we make it harder on the crew that works the next game, when we just "take it" we make it harder on the next crew.

Just my $0.02 on being an independent contractor in the baseball world. Now, its time for an Old Fashioned. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

[grayhawk]

You're playing 14 innings? That's great. Hope you have fun after the 9th, but we won't be there.

[The Man in Blue]

Since you are already selling me this car, you should sell me another one just like it at a discount.

Actually, I guess the correct question is, "Coach, do you stay after to coach the JV team for a discounted rate?"

 

 

[SeeingEyeDog]

So, the easy "answer" to why we "let them walk all over us" is...as Jim Carrey's "Grinch" would say, "...fear of reprisals..." Guys worry that if they say no to someone that is on the faucet of providing them game slots, they aren't going to call them. And I will absolutely allow that in some markets, that is a genuine concern.

At the risk of flying my commie-pinko flag...this is precisely why it is so important that you operate as an umpire within a labor union. Which, in the amateur world of umpiring means..."being part of an umpire association". I don't care how small a market you work in...if there are more than two umpires covering your market, you should have an umpire association. It's cliche and...it's also true. There is indeed safety in numbers.

Umpiring and sports officiating is a highly specialized skill and job that frankly most people simply do not want to do at any price. If you are getting abused or taken advantage of in ways like @concertman1971 has illustrated above, you absolutely need to close ranks with your local brother umpires and make it clear how your association will and won't work. No situation is perfect, of course. There are always parts of the greater relationships between umpire associations and their clients (leagues and schools) that are sub-optimal and could be improved. In my association, we are fully empowered by the contracts leadership has signed with our clients that if we get to a field and they try to change the deal, we stick to the deal as arranged and outlined in Arbiter. Nothing more and nothing less.

If it's a 7 inning scrimmage and we show up and they want to roll 9 innings or ANY deviation from the terms outlined in Arbiter, we give the coaches or on-site contacts our association hotline and they can take it up with one of our assigners. They can then negotiate updated terms and that can be communicated to us via call, text or email. That's happened maybe two times over the years. It simply doesn't happen often because the standard of how we operate as an association...is...the standard.

I'm oversimplifying it by saying "form an association". In all likelihood, it will take some years once you've formed that association to effectively change the culture with your clients. You can either work to change the culture for the betterment of The Game and your fellow umpires or...you can continue as @grayhawk has skillfully instructed. Do not roll over. Do not fear the consequences. Politely and professionally tell them no, that's not what was agreed upon. We are with you, brothers.

~Dawg

[grayhawk]

Same JUCO wants to play 14 today. The crew decided we're done after 9 and they can put a coach behind the mound for the last 5. 

[The Man in Blue]

 

OK, maybe focus more on the first line.  Or all of it.  Either way . . .

You guys know I am 1000% against the shenanigans --  

 

-- but one thing we MUST do is explain to them why this is a problem.  They do not see it that way, so we cannot expect them to change unless we provide the impetus for that change.

Here are the big 2 we see in this area: 

FIRST: Scheduling for one game, waiting until everybody is at the field to see if the other team brings a sub-varsity squad, and then asking us to stay.  One school who this is the big offender on this one does pay for the extra, and they pay well so many guys stay and put up with it.  A number of us have explained to the AD that she needs to contract both in advance.  If they want to write their contract with an "if/then flex pay" schedule in it, then do so.  They pay on Arbiter after the game, so the ease of altering the pay amounts encourages them to keep doing it their way.

The problem: We are humans and we do have other things to do.  You cannot just expect us to stay for another hour or two at the drop of a hat.

SECOND: Contracting for V+ then refusing to pay for the second game/innings if it does not get played.  We have one local school who sends ALL of their games out as V+ when schedules go out.  They have gone to writing two checks: one for the varsity game and one for the second game/innings.  The coach won't give you the second the check unless the second game gets played.

The problem: We are independent contractors (supposedly).  When we accept contracts, we do so for a variety of reasons.  For some, that is pay.  You contracted us for a certain amount of pay.  It is not our fault you didn't verify with the other team in advance.  Our umpire could have worked a V+ contract just up the road, and would have passed your contract up for that guarantee.

I understand that schools often work within constrained budgets and don't want to pay for games that don't get played.  However, these issues most often come back to an AD who just isn't doing their job.  Many of these ADs even have a secretary.  It is not difficult to contact the other school at the beginning of the week or 48 hours in advance and verify what games are being played.  It is not that difficult to then follow up with your officials in advance to propose any contract changes.

 

[concertman1971]

**UPDATE** 

Contacted the assignor, let him know that the team had it scheduled for 14 innings, and if they were going to be playing 14, i would need to give the game back. Miraculously, the team said they would umpire the balance of the game. 

What we permit, we promote.