Chicago White Sox Protest Seattle Mariners Clubhouse Dues Policy
One day after White Sox ace, Chris Sale, destroyed the team’s throwback jersey in protest, Chicago reportedly protested the clubhouse dues policy of the Seattle Mariners.
If there was an MLB award for off-field antics, the 2016 Chicago White Sox would surely win. Within the last week, the White Sox have been the talk of the Twitterverse on more than one occasion.
This week the hoopla started when Chicago ace, Chris Sale, slashed the team’s throwback jerseys because they were uncomfortable. The result of his insubordination and destruction of team property was a five-game suspension.
More recently, the team has reportedly protested the clubhouse dues policy of the Seattle Mariners, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. It may help to explain what these clubhouse dues are.
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While on the road, it is customary for traveling teams to pay the clubhouse manager and the attendants generous tips for making the visiting team more comfortable.
However, the Mariners’ dues policy has sixty-percent of the dues going directly to the team to be reallocated among the clubhouse assistants.
The remaining forty-percent goes directly to clubhouse manager, Jeff Bopp. This forty-percent is in addition to his salary that is paid by the club.
The Mariners policy is not without reason. According to the team, the implementation allows the club to manage the hours and overtime of underage employees. Despite their reasoning, the White Sox took issue and refused to tip altogether.
The issue of clubhouse dues is not new, as it has been brought up in collective bargaining discussions. According to Rosenthal, this will likely be brought up once more when the current collective bargaining agreement expires in December. It will be interesting to see what stance the player’s union takes when CBA negotiations take place.
Next: Five-game Suspension For Chris Sale
While in principle, it is understandable why the Chicago White Sox would withhold their dues. The team disagrees with the money going into a separate fund for reallocation. However, the ones that get caught in the middle are the attendants and hourly employees.
Presently, these off-field distractions take away from the team’s current woes. The White Sox have lost seven of its last ten games. The team sits one game under .500, putting them 8.5 games back from the first-place Cleaveland Indians in the AL Central division. They are also 6.5 games out of the second wild-card spot.