Sources told the Chicago Sun-Times the Cubs grounds crew was short-staffed on Tuesday because management cut workers’ hours to avoid paying for health care coverage mandated by the new Affordable Care Act.
A skeleton team of 15 workers scrambled to cover Wrigley Field with a tarp during an unexpected downpour — but couldn’t protect the grounds before they were soaked in the storm.
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The Sun-Times spoke to three officials from other teams who said the incident showed an “undermanned” grounds crew.
“Embarrassing, and they got caught,” one official said.
The Cubs denied the story. “This unfortunate incident had nothing to do with staffing hours,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. “There was a bizarre weather system — we had a microburst of rain that wasn’t in the forecast and the tarp wasn’t pulled until well after it started raining, which added to the challenge.”
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