Referees May Spike Playoffs

Southern Section volleyball referees are considering a strike unless they receive a pay increase.

Angered that they are paid less than referees in other high school sports, members of the Southern California Volleyball Officials Assn. have targeted May 10, the first day of the Southern Section boys’ volleyball playoffs, as a job action date.

Two members of the SCVOA discussed a per-match increase in fees at a Southern Section meeting on Feb. 6 but were not satisfied with the response.

“They told us two things,” said Tom Fakehany, SCVOA council chairman. “They told us there’s no money and that you guys don’t work up a sweat.”

The Times obtained a letter sent to more than 700 referees in the association that claims fees proposed by the Southern Section for the 1996-97 season “show an overall decrease.”

The letter also serves as a ballot, asking referees if they would support a job action. Ballots that are not returned will be viewed as support for a job action, the letter states.

This season, a referee who works consecutive freshman, junior varsity and varsity matches earns $70; the umpire for the match earns $60. Next season, those numbers drop to $61 and $53.

By comparison, a basketball referee who works a junior varsity-varsity doubleheader makes $78. A football referee who works the same shift draws a comparable amount.

“[Southern Section administrators] see us as standing on a platform and not performing,” said Diane Uribe, the SCVOA’s liaison to the Southern Section. “They don’t know the mental aspect. No other sport makes a judgment on every touch: Is that legal contact or illegal?”

There are some payment increases for next year. If only one official works a match, he or she will receive a slight increase in pay.

Said Karen Hellyer, a Southern Section assistant commissioner: “There’s nothing for me to say because I don’t know anything about it.”