Nixon Gives Umpires 40% Pay Increase : Former President Awards Compensation for Additional Games

Former President Nixon, acting as an arbitrator, decided Monday that major league umpires will receive a 40% increase in pay for working additional baseball games in the two divisional championship series.

Nixon, chosen by the presidents of the two leagues to decide the dispute between baseball and the umpires in binding arbitration, said in a statement, “The arbitrator’s decision is that because the championship series have been expanded by a factor of 40%, the working umpires are entitled to receive a 40% increase in compensation, which amounts to an increase of $4,000 per umpire, or a total of $48,000 per year for the 12 working umpires for the years 1985 and 1986.”

The American and National league playoffs were expanded from best-of-5 to best-of-7, beginning in 1985. The umpires threatened a strike, but later agreed to the arbitration by Nixon.

The statement by Nixon also said that only the working umpires will receive additional compensation for 1985, but that for 1986, an “additional 40% increase in the League Championship Series justifies a 40% increase in the contribution the leagues should make to the pool for all 60 of the umpires.”

That additional amount for 1986 will be $64,000, Nixon said.

For the years 1984-86, the current agreement between the leagues and the umpires calls for each umpire working the league playoffs, to receive $10,000. Nixon said that amount will be increased to $14,000 apiece for next year.

There was no immediate response to Nixon’s decision from league presidents Bobby Brown of the American League and Chub Feeney of the National League, both of whom were traveling Monday on the way home from the World Series.

Richie Phillips, head of the umpires union, said from Philadelphia: “President Nixon’s decision represents another significant advance for the umpires. The total award, which is almost three times the league’s final offer, provides additional compensation for the umpires who work the LCS (League Championship Series) and, more importantly, represents a recognition of the special events pool as a continued element of umpire compensation.”

Under the current agreement, the umpires earn $2,500 apiece for working the All-Star game and $15,000 each for working the World Series. The overall special events pool for 1985, divided equally among all 60 major league umpires, was $240,000.