TOD 7/18: The Jills - are they & should they be gone forever

[PromoTheRobot]

Surprised the Pegulas just didn't settle this for fair wages once they bought the team. But the Jills class action was certified last January, when the team issued this disappointing statement:

 

"It remains our position that this case is being prosecuted by a very small number of former cheerleaders whose allegations do not accurately reflect the sentiment of all cheerleaders," the team said.

 

They could have settled it for chump change, instead they continued the money-grubbing ways of past management. The Jills are done and gone, regardless of how their lawsuit turns out.

The Pegulas would be opening a can of worms by doing that since the Bills contend the team had nothing to do with them directly. It was 97 Rock (WGRF) that managed the squad. Was that just a coincidence or a deliberate attempt to farm out a team function so as to insulate themselves from such a job action? That's for the courts to determine.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

It works a little differently across sports. It's sort of a part-time job if you are in the right place. My fiancée was a dancer in the NBA for a few years and they were well compensated. They would get the standard $25 a practice and $50 a game but they would get $35 an hour for appearances. She would do about 3 appearances a week and make an extra $500.

Interesting. So it seems the nba is more structured, they also seem to be more integrated into the show and execute performance above and beyond standard cheerleader Stuff. True?

 

Any of the over the top personal care guidelines such as the Jill's suit alleges?

[Malazan]

I'm good with them being gone.

[Kirby Jackson]

Interesting. So it seems the nba is more structured, they also seem to be more integrated into the show and execute performance above and beyond standard cheerleader Stuff. True?

 

Any of the over the top personal care guidelines such as the Jill's suit alleges?

Yeah, they are pretty cutthroat too. They have about 250 people audition for 22 spots. They have dance prep classes prior. Pretty much everyone on an NBA dance team has an extensive dance background. It's a lot different from NFL cheerleaders. They don't have the same level of expertise.

 

In terms of personal care it was brutal. You are contractually obligated to your hair color. They were required to be less than 120 Lbs (I think that was it). They have stylists that do their hair and makeup as they and the director see fit. Their workout regime was crazy. They would put people on weight probation if they exceeded that weight limit and they wouldn't be allowed to dance. It is pretty crazy.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Kirby Jackson

[Luxy312]

My thoughts on this subject are pretty straight forward. Their lawsuit was all about wanting to get paid for practice time and other things they were doing off the field. I get what they're asking for. They want to be paid for what they perceive as work. Fair enough. The settlement retroactively pays them something for time served, even though they weren't even employed by the Buffalo Bills organization. So, should they be employed, what would they be providing going forward? Are they going to put more fans in the seats on Sundays? Are they going to provide something so great from an entertainment perspective, that it measurably adds to the experience of an NFL game? When the answer is clearly "no" for both questions, it's obvious that they're irrelevant. You could make an argument that flight attendants on airplanes are much more relevant to their profession, and they only get paid for the time they're in the air as well. Nothing for standby nor travel just the same. At the end of the day, being a "professional" cheerleader is at-will employment. For the Bills, their lawsuit just "willed" them out of a job and I honestly don't care if they work another day.

[eball]

Why would we want a group of women back who apparently can't even keep their junk clean?

[Best Player Available]

let them go. As a unit I don't think they ever rated better than #28 in the league cheerleading ranks anyways.

[Nanker]

At least one former Jill used to post here regularly. She hasn't now in years.

I respect the volunteer efforts the ladies made for whatever reason to help boost the team and hopefully make the gameday experience of the fans in the stands and watching on TV more festive.

I also appreciate the work they did in the community at various events where they promoted the BB spirit (NO, not you BeerBall).

 

That said, I think the rationale that they were due compensation because they had to practice, and perform at games and events is not warranted. I went through my High School days playing in a Drum and Bugle Corps and we had practices all year long, and sometimes two or three parades and/or competitions on weekends in the summer. I think that is very comparable to the efforts that NFL Cheerleaders put in, and none of the kids in my Corps or any other ever thought it was anything but a fun activity and we volunteered to do it.

 

So, no. Don't bring them back.

[Captain_Quint]

It works a little differently across sports. It's sort of a part-time job if you are in the right place. My fiancée was a dancer in the NBA for a few years and they were well compensated. They would get the standard $25 a practice and $50 a game but they would get $35 an hour for appearances. She would do about 3 appearances a week and make an extra $500.

 

Nudes or it didnt happen.

[eball]

At least one former Jill used to post here regularly. She hasn't now in years.

I respect the volunteer efforts the ladies made for whatever reason to help boost the team and hopefully make the gameday experience of the fans in the stands and watching on TV more festive.

I also appreciate the work they did in the community at various events where they promoted the BB spirit (NO, not you BeerBall).

 

That said, I think the rationale that they were due compensation because they had to practice, and perform at games and events is not warranted. I went through my High School days playing in a Drum and Bugle Corps and we had practices all year long, and sometimes two or three parades and/or competitions on weekends in the summer. I think that is very comparable to the efforts that NFL Cheerleaders put in, and none of the kids in my Corps or any other ever thought it was anything but a fun activity and we volunteered to do it.

 

So, no. Don't bring them back.

 

Band geek.

[Nanker]

 

Band geek.

Yep!

 

[BaaadThingsMan]

Don't miss em, wouldn't bring em back

[bigK14094]

Season ticket holder here....I attend for the football...not the T&A the Jills provide. glad they are gone....no need to bring back at all.....

[Freddie's Dead]

 

Or maybe this crusade against the Bills by lawyers seeking a payday by luring former cheerleaders with the thought of a comparably smaller payday is exactly what it looks like, and the Pegula's who have shown no such resistance to paying deserved money out, see the whole picture for what it is. If you think the Jills did this for minimum wage, you are fooling yourself. While the minimum wage laws likely apply in this case, none of them are screaming for joy, because now they are currently out of a job that promoted them into making far more than petty minimum wage.

The case is mostly about whether the Jills were in fact employees, rather than the independent contractors that the Bills claim. I'm an independent contractor by trade, and I think that the Bills had a level of control over the Jills activities that (IMHO, IANAL) made the Jills employees. I'm very interested to see the outcome of the suit.

The Pegulas would be opening a can of worms by doing that since the Bills contend the team had nothing to do with them directly. It was 97 Rock (WGRF) that managed the squad. Was that just a coincidence or a deliberate attempt to farm out a team function so as to insulate themselves from such a job action? That's for the courts to determine.

I think the Bills subcontracted the Jills operation so as to insulate themselves from the cost of classifying the Jills as employees, and as you say PTR, the courts will decide.

[uticaclub]

Maybe instead of having Jills, have area HS girls compete for the chance to perform their routines at the Ralph. Just a thought. I thought the Jills were cool when I was a little kid, but that was before the internet.

[BaaadThingsMan]

Maybe instead of having Jills, have area HS girls compete for the chance to perform their routines at the Ralph. Just a thought. I thought the Jills were cool when I was a little kid, but that was before the internet.

I was telling someone the same thing.

[KD in CA]

Surprised the Pegulas just didn't settle this for fair wages once they bought the team. But the Jills class action was certified last January, when the team issued this disappointing statement:

 

"It remains our position that this case is being prosecuted by a very small number of former cheerleaders whose allegations do not accurately reflect the sentiment of all cheerleaders," the team said.

 

They could have settled it for chump change, instead they continued the money-grubbing ways of past management. The Jills are done and gone, regardless of how their lawsuit turns out.

 

What's 'disappointing' about a factually correct statement?

 

And wasn't the lawsuit filed before they even bought the team? A class action has to run its course, there's no reason for Pegula to try to throw money at them. If the NYS DOL wants to puff up its chest and ruin an arrangement that worked for 99% of the people involved, so be it. The lawyers will get paid, every cheerleader for the last 30 years will get $6.72 and we'll be done with it. Certainly the team has no interest in putting 50 more employees on the books, paying them benefits, tracking their sick days, etc., etc.

 

Cheerleaders in football are silly anyway. They stand on the sideline far from the action, out of sight and mind of almost the entire crowd. In the NBA it's part of the show. They are out there in the middle of the floor every time out and the fans are just a few feet away.

 

And not to mention, we have a female owner. I'm guessing she's not in a rush to put a T&A show back on the sideline. We've seen our last Jill.

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

Maybe instead of having Jills, have area HS girls compete for the chance to perform their routines at the Ralph. Just a thought. I thought the Jills were cool when I was a little kid, but that was before the internet.

The Packers do this with girls from local college. I don't like the idea of High School, considering the controversy that would surround them being minors, and essentially "eye candy."

 

I haven't been to a Bills home game in years, but I think the drum line would actually add to the game day excitement, and get me pumped up much more than cheerleaders.

[Mr. WEO]

Yeah, they are pretty cutthroat too. They have about 250 people audition for 22 spots. They have dance prep classes prior. Pretty much everyone on an NBA dance team has an extensive dance background. It's a lot different from NFL cheerleaders. They don't have the same level of expertise.

 

In terms of personal care it was brutal. You are contractually obligated to your hair color. They were required to be less than 120 Lbs (I think that was it). They have stylists that do their hair and makeup as they and the director see fit. Their workout regime was crazy. They would put people on weight probation if they exceeded that weight limit and they wouldn't be allowed to dance. It is pretty crazy.

 

The Jills, not so crazy like that....

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

Don't particularly care - let them be gone forever. Whoever handled their jobs and pay bungled it up, and at this point its bad press to even bring them up.