The New York Yankees announced on Tuesday that they will pay their baseball operation employees their full salary through May 31.
Hats off to the New York Yankees for doing the right thing in these troubling times. It was announced earlier on Tuesday that commissioner Rob Manfred was suspending the uniform employee contracts.
Sources: the Yankees notified their baseball operations employees earlier today that they will be paid through May. Covers all employees on a uniform employee contract.
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) April 21, 2020
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has now suspended the Uniform Employee Contracts (UEC), allowing teams to impose furloughs and paycuts on non-playing employees. The act, permitted in national emergencies, gives teams the option. Most teams say they will pay workers thru May 31.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 21, 2020
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the suspension of UECs means teams now have the option of furloughs and cutting pay to save money.
But Major League Baseball teams are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Even more than that in the case of the Yankees.
There’s really no excuse for a Major League Baseball organization not to do everything in its power to support its employees. They have the means to weather this storm. Many individuals don’t.
It’s encouraging to see the Yankees take action to ensure that their employees won’t be victims of the unbelievable challenges society currently faces. It’s also encouraging that the Yankees aren’t the only team protecting their employees. Heyman reported that most teams plan on continuing to pay their employees.
Since no one has experienced a crisis like COVID-19 before, no one can tell us when it’ll be over. Various plans have been proposed to get MLB back in action. However, it’s unlikely that the league will be up and running by the end of May. From a logistics and safety perspective, it’s just not possible.
The plan to pay employees through May is a good start. But the Yankees will have to extend that date as far as needed until baseball returns.
