Southern Section Will Negotiate With Officials

Football without officials sure would step up the action.

Think of it: No touchdowns called back because of penalties. No quick whistles. And no referees huddled like old maids at a quilting bee, figuring out how to enforce a penalty.

But telling officials to stay home would be like barring highway patrolmen from freeways. Every ambulance in town had better be on call.

The Southern Section executive committee, apparently realizing that football without zebras is as perilous as a zoo without cages, voted unanimously Saturday to initiate negotiations with the Southern California Football Officials Assn.

Officials in seven of the nine Southern California units voted May 22 to boycott the 1986 season if negotiations were not opened. They object to a recently adopted pay scale and to working back-to-back junior varsity and varsity games.

Under the new pay scale, officials will receive a raise of $1 a game this season and $2 a game for each of the next two seasons. Officials had proposed raises of $3 a game for each of the next three seasons. Last season, three of the four officials working a single game earned $34 and the referee earned $37. The pay was $47 and $53 for back-to-back games.

In the past, City Section and some Southern Section schools have assigned the same officials for consecutive games to save $84 a game. Officials claim the policy prohibits newer officials from gaining experience.

“We’ll talk with their spokesmen and try to come to some kind of compromise,” said Stan Thomas, who replaced Ray Plutko as Southern Section commissioner on Tuesday.

Dave Hull, a member of the officials’ executive committee, was elated to hear of the decision to negotiate.

“The vote is historic and courageous,” Hull said. “Never in the 54-year history of the officials association has the CIF agreed to negotiate. I am very heartened by this.

“I welcome them to call us immediately. We’ll go any place at any time to begin discussions as quickly as possible.”

Plutko, who has resigned to take a similar position in Colorado, this week urged the executive committee to open negotiations. Jim Cheffers, director of athletics, said the City Section will abide by any agreement reached by the officials and the Southern Section. Both sections draw from the same pool of officials.

Although talks may begin soon, an agreement may be slow to reach.

The pay scale, which was passed by Southern Section schools, 51-5, in early May, will not be included in negotiations, according to Thomas.

“We can’t negotiate on the pay contract,” Thomas said. “It’s locked in concrete.”

Many officials believe a pay increase is not as important an issue as eliminating back-to-back assignments. Hull, however, bristled at the suggestion that pay is not negotiable.

“It’s that kind of talk that upset officials to begin with,” Hull said. “But I’ll wait until we sit down across a table to argue the point.”

Thomas said that even if negotiations stall and officials boycott, football will be played.