Barry, You are doing what a CEO needs to be able to do. I fully support your plan and admire all your effort in the face of a difficult time. That said, don't be shy about asking for help whether it be advice or donation to support the people we value at HQ. This is not a time for politics. Political fantasies are not the solution to this problem. As a scientist I see the implications of the data. As a human being I feel the suffering of those around me who have lost jobs and potentially will lose family members. Take care of yourselves and your families. 73, Art K0AIZ On 3/21/2020 5:44 PM, Shelley, Barry, N1VXY (CEO) wrote:
Lee et al:
Before you make blanket statements based on broad, incorrect assumptions, you should take some time and try to educate yourself on what is actually happening in Newington, CT. And this should include studying the provisions of the Extended Family and Medical Leave Act as passed by Congress just this week. Because that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past two days, working with Diane and CT counsel to craft a plan that will get money in the hands of the staff, using the provisions of the new Extended FMLA in conjunction with an extension of our PTO policies to keep all staff fully paid for as long as possible. Some of these paid leave benefits will be reimbursed by the federal government, not just a willy nilly use of the membership resources that I and the Board have a fiduciary responsibility to protect and use wisely.
The compensation plan is somewhat complicated because the new and existing Federal laws, including the ones just passed, were not fully thought out before they were enacted. What a surprise, huh? But that is the world we’re dealing with at the moment.
Without going into all the details at this time, the Extended FMLA takes effect on April 2, 2020. For those who have no work, rather than furloughing them on Tuesday, we will fund their compensation from Tuesday, March 24th to the beginning of the Federal benefits. That’s less than $20,000. Then, for the next two weeks, we will pay them 100% of their compensation which will be reimbursed by the Federal government (eventually). After that, they will be compensated at a rate equaling 2/3 of their pay up to $200/day. Most of the 21 people will not exceed the cap. We will also allow them to use accrued PTO time to make up the difference between the benefits and 100% of their compensation, something we can’t do with unemployment. In addition, we will be temporarily modifying our PTO policy to allow staff to “borrow” against future accruals for the remainder of the year which will give then an additional 3 weeks of pay to supplement any shortfall from federal benefits. Notice I used the work “furlough”. While a legal distinction, if we used the word “laid off”, that would immediately require them to apply for unemployment benefits which is approximately 50% of their compensation. And they would lose any future PTO benefit.
This plan has been discussed with Matt Curtin, CT HR counsel from Murtha Cullina and he supports it.
Once we are past the crisis, we can evaluate the financial impact and always go back and revisit the issue of PTO time and restore it, if we feel it to be prudent. But at this time, as no one knows the exact length of the crisis, we have no clue of what the potential financial impact is for the League. And as such, no one can make the blanket statement that we have the resources to cover an amount of money that is unknown.
In closing, I have to tell you that I’m personally insulted by your implication that I am insensitive to the needs of the staff and the organization. I (and the Board) are responsible for both and I can tell you that I certainly am, and I believe the Board to be as well. Its just that I don’t have the luxury of choosing one over the other. I have to balance the needs and responsibilities of both.
I will keep the Board informed going forward about operations at HQ as information becomes available.
As I said in my original message, patience and flexibility are required. I have no clue what the Governor of CT or the President of the United States is going to order next, but whatever it is, we will respond accordingly.
I hope everyone is staying safe.
73,
Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY
Interim Chief Executive Officer
*From:* arrl-odv <arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org> *On Behalf Of *Lee Cooper *Sent:* Saturday, March 21, 2020 5:06 PM *To:* arrl-odv <arrl-odv@arrl.org> *Subject:* [arrl-odv:29906] Staff Layoffs
I am going to just toss this out to the group as it is something I think needs to be said.
I think of ham radio, as I suspect many of you do as a kind of large extended family. We will go out of our way to help another ham whether that is assisting in doing a tower raising, trouble shooting antenna problems, giving them rides to club meetings and much more. Ham radio operators are known for our compassion and caring behavior. At minimum, we certainly have a “Band of Brothers” camaraderie in the way we make life long friendships with hams we have never even met because of our love of the hobby.
And I would extend this mindset to our family at Newington that is going through a tough situation caused by the over-reaction of politicians’ hell bent on destroying their State’s economy. Staff is being impacted by choices outside our or their control.
Having said that when I read Barry’s email regarding HQ staffing it brought up a range of emotions. I was both saddened, angered and frustrated by how we are treating our family.
This is a time where folks are highly concerned about being able to get food and supplies, concerned for family members that may be susceptible to COVID19, not even sure what all this means, so our response is to yank the rug out from them and tell them that if the State requires them to shelter in place we should devastate their saved PTO time and lay them off without pay. I am sure this is all they needed on top of everything else. Barry mentions unemployment? Really?!! We all know with the number of applications that will likely be received it might be a couple of months for that to be processed, and for what, maybe 10% of their current income?
ARRL is going to survive this fine. People will still renew their memberships, still buy books, still advertise in QST and even donate to various funds. We may take some hit but it will not be significant. In fact, with all the travel cancelled we are probably looking better than we expected.
Members of this board will not be impacted by even a full shutdown of HQ as we all have other jobs and are not dependent on the league for our livelihood. The most compensated staff will be allowed to work from home and still get paid. So who are we “furloughing”? Likely the most vulnerable of our staff.
The league approved a budget in January that paid everyone’s salary for the year. We can afford to cover the Staff salary for the next 4 to 8 weeks, maybe even longer without significant impacts. And even if there were some, it is still what we should do for our “family”.
I am asking the board to consider meeting NOW Tomorrow or Monday at the latest and consider a resolution that states that ALL HQ staff will continue to get paid, will not lose their PTO for the duration of this shutdown. It is the moral thing to do, it is the compassionate thing to do and, dammit, it is the RIGHT thing to do.
Regards,
Lee, W5LHC
Lee H. Cooper, PMP, CKM, CKF, ITILv3, LSSGB, W5LHC Vice Director, West Gulf Division ARRL - National Association of Amateur Radio w5lhc@arrl.org <mailto:w5lhc@arrl.org> (512) 658-3910
/"He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat" - N.B./
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