Blue Jays ownership setting an example during the pandemic

Although I’ve been critical of Rogers Communications in the past, they’re doing the right thing with Blue Jays employees during this Covid-19 pandemic.

I’m surprised that I’m saying this right now, however, I believe it’s important to give credit where it’s due. That said, lately I’ve been impressed by Rogers Communications and their willingness to spend some money.

I know, that probably felt as weird to read as it did to type.

I was pleasantly surprised when the Blue Jays spent some dough during free agency this past off-season, but that pales in comparison to what they’ve done lately. That would be the work they’ve done with their fans and employees during this Covid-19 pandemic, and on Friday we got more positive news from the organization. This time, they committed to paying all full-time employees through Oct 1, whether there’s a season or not.

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There are a few caveats, such as employees earning “above a low-earning threshold” being subject to pay cuts, but overall they’re doing right by their employees. They’re even honouring medical coverage and benefits for staff through this period as well. This kind of philosophy hasn’t been extended by every team across Major League Baseball, and it’s something for Blue Jays fans to be proud of.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve been impressed by Rogers and the Blue Jays throughout this mess either. Going back to before the league had addressed ticket refunds, the Blue Jays were quietly making them available for fans that made their case. Mark Shapiro briefly alluded to it in an interview a while back, and I know a few folks personally who reached out for a refund before the league had changed their policy, and the Blue Jays honoured it.

It’s easy to pick on ownership when they’re not always spending the money on the roster that the fan base wants them to, and that’s never going to change regardless of where the payroll sits. In this case, I think it’s important to give the Blue Jays a tip of the cap, especially because not every team in the league will be doing the same for the staff. And with the increasingly unlikeliness of MLB coming to Canada this year (the border is going to be an issue for a while), I’m sure there are a lot of employees that are breathing a sigh of relief.