********** MEDIA ADVISORY **********
ON BEHALF OF THE ASSOCIATION OF MINOR LEAGUE UMPIRES
MLB Stonewalls Minor League Umpires
Big League Bosses Refuse to Discuss Details of Background Checks
August 10, 2007, Andover, Massachusetts --- The Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU), the labor union representing over 200 minor league baseball umpires, called on representatives of Major League Baseball to quit their stonewalling and meet with the AMLU to discuss details of MLB's plan to investigate the personal, professional and financial backgrounds of certain umpires.
"We have not refused to go along with the so-called background checks, but MLB has not been very forthcoming with the details of their plan; in fact, they've flat-out refused to talk to us, much less answer our questions," said AMLU President Shaun Francis.
On Thursday, MLB Counsel Frank Coonelly, sent a letter to AMLU Counsel Robert Weaver, rebuffing the AMLU's request to arrange a teleconference.
Mr. Weaver quickly responded in a letter to Coonelly in which he wrote, "MLB has requested these umpires to sign a blank check, broad in scope and unlimited in duration, authorizing investigation into all manner of background information. The AMLU's request to discuss this matter with MLB is, in the circumstances, only reasonable."
AMLU President Shaun Francis put it more bluntly in an email to his members, "Let me be clear, the AMLU is willing to discuss the possibility of various forms of disclosure, but we cannot give MLB a "blank check" to investigate every facet of our members' private lives --- that is an unacceptable, unfair and intrusive violation of your rights. Will a bounced check or a college bar fight be sufficient grounds for the MLB denying you employment ? We really don't know the answer because MLB won't talk to us."
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