Pay Cuts

I was just reading a New York Times article about Johnny Damon. A great ball player, and one I admire a lot. In case you missed the World Series, Damon was a big reason the Yankees won. He batted .364 and in one of the most memorable plays of the post-season, stole two consecutive bases in an amazing heads-up play.

You’d think the Yankees would renew his contract. But they didn’t. They also let Hideki Matsui go, who was the single biggest reason they won the Series. Why? They’re trying to build a younger team. Damon and Matsui are both in their mid-30s. When the Yanks didn’t pony up the required salary for Damon ($13 million is what he made last year), he and his agent Scott Boras went shopping. And the market was chilly. Yesterday, Damon signed a one-year $8 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.

Putting aside that phenomenal amount of money for a moment (a reflection of MLB’s economy), Damon made a good point when he said to reporters, “It’s just like going to you guys and saying, ‘You wrote great stories for us, you worked your tail off, but take a pay cut.’ You’re kind of like, ‘What the heck?’ It’s a little humbling right away. You’re like, ‘Wow.’ You start thinking, ‘Well, is that what they really think of me?’”

In the past six months, two of the magazines I write for have asked me – and all their freelancers – to take a per word pay cut. This is after years of meeting deadlines and delivering well-written stories. When that happens, it is definitely a “What the heck?” moment. While I know that we’re still in the throes of a recession, sometimes I wonder if companies aren’t preying on their employees’ fears about losing their jobs. And with these pay cuts, there wasn’t really room for discussion. The unspoken message was, “If you don’t like it, we can find another ten freelancers who’d be happy to work for us.”

Last week, another magazine, one I’ve been a part of for fourteen years, sent an even more frightening email. Their parent company handed down an ultimatum that basically said, “From here on out, after initial publication of an article, we will own it lock, stock and barrel. No reprint rights, no syndication money, no chance to reuse the material for the writer who created it.” And the whole thing came with a mildly nasty threat to sign by March 1st or else.

Fortunately, the editor of said magazine is making an heroic stand. He’s organized a petition of 173 music journalists (of which I’m proud to be part), including heavyweights like Greil Marcus, Sylvie Simmons and Ben Edmonds, to ask the parent company for at least the right to sit down and negotiate better terms. It was delivered today, so everyone’s holding their breath for a response.

Ball players, writers, whatever your job. If you love what you do, and you’re good at it, it’s only natural to want to be recognized, respected and fairly compensated for it.

Go Tigers. Go MOJO.