Interesting commentary in this article on Senator Casey the Holy Cross boy, the perfidy of unions, and Age Wave (see blurb about Ken Dychtwald, below).
Does the union want to help these men? “The common bond that unites all unions is that they are supposed to look after their dues paying members,” says Daniel R. Marburger, an Associate Professor of Economics at Arkansas State University. “The rank and file in labor unions want to make as much money for themselves as possible, even if it’s at the expense of the exploited.”
True, but there are some who also subscribe to what I call The Three Musketeers philosophy, namely, all for one and one for all. “Current players should continue to fight for greater retirement and health benefits for former athletes, not just for recent retirees,” wrote Marc Eisenberg, author of the Money Players Blog. “All professional athletes should keep in mind that they will be active, voting members of the Players Association for just a few years, but they will be retired players for decades.”
That sounds nice but, in doing the research for my new book, I learned that the league is going to soon ask each of the 30 teams to increase their annual pension contributions from $157 million to more than $210 million. So theoretically, if that extra $53 million goes into the coffers of the players union, Weiner shouldn’t need to stick out his tin cup and panhandle for more.
Although Weiner is supposedly committed to discussing the plight of these 874 men during the next collective bargaining negotiations, that doesn’t guarantee anything. As David Clyde, the former Texas Ranger and Cleveland Indian pitcher, told me, “our item would be the first that gets thrown out of those negotiations if the economy keeps tanking,” he said. “It doesn’t take a village idiot to figure that out.”
No it doesn’t. As a result of the downturn, Age Wave reports that most people believe their retirement will need to be postponed an average of 3.6 years. But baseball players aren’t most people, since their life expectancy has reportedly been found to be higher than that of, not only the general population, but that of players from the three other major league sports, as well. According to Social Sciences Quarterly, compared to the average 20-year-old U.S. male, a MLB player can expect almost five additional years of life.
That might be the cruelest irony of all. For, as Tom Hanks discovered in The Green Mile, living longer isn’t always a good thing. That’s especially true for all those pre-1980, non-vested players who still need to work, if only because of the lousy economy.
As far as both the Senate and House bills are concerned, officials on both sides of the aisle need to remember that this is an election cycle. The only way they get returned to Washington this year is if their fans at home vote for them in November. That’s why they need to turn a blind eye to Casey’s pitch.
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