People often refer to older, more experienced officials as "lions" or "warriors" who have spent years in the trenches and who have years of experience to offer the young lions in the world of tennis officiating--and that is true! Some older lions I know feel that they have paid their dues and owe noone anything but that's simply not good reasoning. When a new official comes on to the field they need older officials to guide them through the sometimes treacherous pathways...
Years ago a group of wise officials founded the METROPLEX TENNIS OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION to be the voice for the officials in our area--and it has done a fantastic job over the years. Numerous other cities have adopted the MTOA model to guide, direct, and protect their officials over the years. The MTOA has seen that officials are respected and paid well, that their minimum pay is now $18/hour for an umpire with a 6 hour minimum and a guarantee of overtime. After numerous struggles they have seen that officials are provided with meals (or the opportunity to leave the site to go get their meals) when they work through a mealtime. Overall, the MTOA has been a wise lion leading and protecting the newcomers...
However...just because officials in the Metroplex enjoy a great life, don't think the battle is over. We should never let our guard down and continually do all we can to make our officiating skills better and then guide and protect our officials as we walk through our life together.
Even though many of our cities have officials organizations and specific rules and guidelines for their areas, don't be naive enough to think that there aren't those who try to circumvent the rules and pay less and do less for the officials that they employ. There are those who would ask you to report to a site 30 minutes early and then not pay you for that time, those that would not provide meals during a long workday, that would pay new officials only $10/hour, and then those who would not pay the minimum hours and overtime that are specifically enumerated in our guidelines.
Since we are considered independent contractors, you can choose to work for those who would short-change you or not. It is your decision. Remember though that many have walked before you and done their homework and due diligence so you are well-paid and provided for. ALWAYS be sure to inquire about your pay and meals before consenting to work for someone. Not all organizations and referees are the same.
Don't walk away from that heritage and into the arms of those who would short change you...
BUYER BEWARE...
2 comments:
Interesting blog. I recently experienced a situation where the hourly rate was stated (by the referee) as $40 an hour (ITA) and was paid at $20 😡 . When questioned, it was reasoned that other events around the country were only paying $20...
How would you suggest verification?
Kind of depends on what part of the country you are in. That's a pretty serious discrepancy and you certainly should have been notified of the change before you did the work. If it happened in Texas, email me and I'll give you names of people to contact. I would also contact the ITA office about this issue and give them full details.
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