There are several major leaguers out there who are not members of the MLBPA. Shane Spencer, of the Yankees, is one such player. These players were denied membership because they participated in the “spring training” of 1995 with the replacement players.
Should the union go on strike, and should these players decide “the heck with the union,” could they go to the owners and say “I’m willing to play, give me my salary?” Since they are not union members, they have no say in whether or not the other players go or stay. Seems harsh to hold them accountable as well.
I don’t want to get into the question of whether they were right or wrong to do so in 1995. My question is simply if they can demand their salaries, since they aren’t part of the union that is going on strike.
I would imagine management would be happy to have them. If the owners want to keep playing with scabs, then I would imagine the current major leaguers who aren’t union would be the first ones called.
Whether or not the players would accept such an offer is another question. Crossing the picket line twice in one’s career might be cause for Icy Hot in the jock strap and a few snapped asses in the shower once the strike is settled.
Not being in a union, they can’t demand anything, though.
Happy
Not necessarily. I’m not in a union. If I have a contract with my boss to build software programs, I can demand payment… even if his network goes down making development impossible.
My thinking is this… the player has a contract that calls for X per year (let’s say $800,000). The player doesn’t want to go on strike. He’s willing to play. He’s not a part of the union that is striking. As such, can he take the team owner to court (and win, of course) if the owner doesn’t pay him his salary.
I am not a labor lawyer (or any other kind of lawyer) and I was hoping one of our resident esquires could enlighten me on this particular matter.
Brian Daubach of the Red Sox is another, having been a replacement player in 1994 as a means to break into the majors, and it’s been only recently that every union member on the team has finally been on speaking terms with him. These guys don’t pay union dues, but neither do they get a cut of the loot from logo merchandising, for much dinero - not that they’re struggling anyway, that is.
Seems to me that if they show up for work as scheduled, they are entitled to get paid, having fulfilled their side of their contracts. MLB paydays are the 1st and 15th of the month, I understand, making the most likely strike date (if they set one) 9/16 per some reports. That would avoid the embarrassment of being on strike for even more incomprehensible wages on 9/11 - but would leave little time to reach a settlement in time to save the postseason that so few of us would be left to care about.
Add Damian Miller of the D-Backs to that list too… Oddly, the latest Triple Play Baseball for XBox Does not feature him on the roster… Marketing thing, I’m sure. Can’t recall if Dauber is in TPB, I’m pretty sure he hasn’t been in previous versions for the PC…
True, though I don’t think there’s anything stopping the software developers from negotiating individual agreements with non-union players for use of their name and likeness. But I suppose since none of these players are big stars that is seen as too much bother.
What if the players go on strike but the owners again use replacement players? If those replacements play games, then the owners would have to include those players who aren’t union members in the games. However, if the owners use replacements but the nonunion players do not wish to participate, I would think the owners would then not be accountable for the salaries of the nonunion players.
Has anyone seen a copy of the standard Major League Baseball player’s contract?
It seems to me this type of scenario is exactly the type of thing spelled out in a contract. What if games are cancelled due to war, insurrection, lockout, work stoppage, acts of God, etc? What if the player can not perform due to injury, being stranded away from the rest of the team and so on?
If it’s not specifically covered in the contract, I’d say the players have a pretty good argument that they should be paid.
The more I think about it and the more I read about it, I think the non-MLBPA players are pretty much hosed in the case of a strike.
If the season is suspended because of a strike, I’m almost certain that the contracts contain language that say that players won’t be paid. There aren’t many non-MLBPA players and it’s unlikely that they would be using replacements at this late date.
More importantly, I don’t think any of the non-MLBPA players would want to get paid because it would just piss off the union players even more when they get back to work.
The non-union players have individual contracts that are different from the CBA and I would think that they have clauses about getting paid (or not) during a strike.
Hmmm, let’s get in touch with these guys. I’ll be a replacement player for only MLB meal money (which I think is almost $300 a day) and if they give me free equipment that I’d be allowed to keep.
Personally, I don’t think you can call them scabs unless there is an actual picket line. Wouldn’t that be awesome to see?
