Red Sox last minute heroics

Recently, I called the Red Sox players mensches for taking a stand and refusing to go to Japan unless coaches and trainers got the same deal they did.

Turns out, they didn't think it was such a bad deal when they agreed to it in the first place. It seems that only after they started getting questions about it did they realize how bad they were going to look and decided to take their stand. In so doing, they violated the terms of their labor agreement with management.

Red Sox players appeared to be heroes last week when they staged a 66-minute strike in support of equal pay for managers, coaches and trainers for their season-opening trip to Japan. They were, as it turns out, less than heroes.

By threatening not to play that day’s exhibition game against Toronto and not to board the plane to Japan after the game, they did two things: They railed against the deal the union made with the commissioner’s office because that was the deal the players wanted, and they violated federal labor law and their own collective bargaining agreement.

The players wanted $40,000 each for going to Japan, and the only way the union could get that much was to drop managers, coaches and trainers from the agreement. That decision didn’t bother the commissioner’s office, because it didn’t think those extra people should be included. Under labor law, unions aren’t permitted to bargain for supervisory personnel.

But when the Red Sox’ players learned of the exclusions, they refused to play the exhibition game and said they wouldn’t board the Japan-bound plane.

In taking that stand, however, they were staging an illegal strike because they were violating the no-strike provision that is implied in their labor contract. They were also violating federal labor law.

I understand my beloved Yankees, when they were offered a similar deal a few years ago, divided the total sum up evenly for all members of the team, including the trainers and coaches. That's why God loves them so much.