[Mldxcc] More Dangerous Changes Proposed to ARRL Articles of Association and By-Laws

[Bob Wilson, N6TV]

I hereby request that our Director, W6RGG, vote *against* the even more
extensive changes to the ARRL Articles of Association and By-Laws outlined
below, drafted by Chris Imlay, W3KD, and proposed by Director Norris, K5UZ
(separate from the N2YBB proposal discussed earlier).

See http://www.b4h.net/ARRL_2018_Jan_Redline_BOD.pdf which highlights the
proposed changes.

Don't blindly assume that all these changes are "required for legal
reasons" just because Chris Imlay wrote them.  You can easily find other
attorneys prepared to argue quite the opposite.

The idea that any director (or any ARRL member) that a majority of the BoD
doesn't like could be easily *expelled* from the Board or The League is
clearly yet another attempt to find a way to remove N6AA and other
like-minded Directors and members.

N6AA and others want to keep The Board discussions OPEN and DEMOCRATIC, but
it seems that directors such as Norris and Lisenco want quite the
opposite.  It also seems that the ARRL President K5UR and new CEO NY2RF
would prefer a hand-picked "rubber stamp" Board instead of one that
properly represents the wishes of the membership.

Please don't let that happen!

73,
Bob, N6TV
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Crovelli <w2gd at hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 25, 2017 at 3:37 PM
Subject: MORE Proposed Revisions to ARRL Articles and Bylaws
To: "cwops at yahoogroups.com" <cwops at yahoogroups.com>


Yesterday I received an email posted by Marty, N6VI regarding
proposed revisions to the ARRL Articles of Association and Bylaws.  These
changes will also be considered at the January ARRL Annual Meeting. It is a
much more comprehensive set of bylaw changes which are* different than *those
proposed by N2YBB.


I've reviewed these proposals in more detail and below are both the
original N6VI email and the product of my own review.   A link to the
full Bylaw proposal document has been graciously provided by WA7LNM.  I
have also shared this material with fellow members of the Frankford Radio
Club.


I personally have many misgivings regarding these proposed bylaw changes
and believe other ARRL Members will feel the same way after they've had an
opportunity to review these materials.


To ensure these proposals get the widest possible preview and comment in
the limited time still available (just *25 days *remain before the
January ARRL Board Meeting) your assistance in distributing this
information to a much broader audience of ARRL Members and radio clubs is
appreciated.




Regards,


John Crovelli, W2GD

ARRL Life Member

CWOPS Life Member



******************************************


Major revisions to the ARRL Articles of Association and Bylaws will be
considered at the ARRL Annual Meeting in Newington on January 19 and 20,
2018.  This is IN ADDITION TO the motions proposed by N2YBB that have been
reported previously.


Below are my *personal comments* based upon a cursory review of the
proposed changes to the ARRL governing documents.  There are many changes
in the proposal to be considered next month at the ARRL Annual Meeting.
Some will dilute membership privileges, others change the basic governing
structure of the ARRL which has stood the test of time over many decades.


Follow the link provided by WA7BNM to view the full text of the
change document.


*http://www.b4h.net/ARRL_2018_Jan_Redline_BOD.pdf*
<http://www.b4h.net/ARRL_2018_Jan_Redline_BOD.pdf>


I want to direct your attention to a few of the changes that quickly caught
my eye:


*Articles of Association - *


Article 11 - gives the ARRL BoD the *NEW *ability to expel a member as
allowed within the Bylaws.

Article 12 - gives the ARRL BoD the *NEW *ability to expel a Director, Vice
Director Officers, etc.  as allowed within the Bylaws.


*Bylaws -*


Bylaw 2 - For the *first time* the ARRL BoD will have the ability to vote
to remove a League member.  *Keep in mind if you are not a League member
you cannot continue to serve as a Director.  *


Bylaw 9 - revokes the current right of a licensed spouse of an SK Life
Member to continue the life membership. *To me this is equivalent to
breaking the contract with the original purchaser.  Surviving licensed
spouses presently have the right to continue life membership.*


Bylaw 41 - expands the duties of Ethics and Elections Committee.


Bylaw 47(a) *NEW* - gives the BoD the ability to remove a Director,
Vice-Director or Officer.  *Note: This appears to be in direct conflict
with CT law which says a Director may only be removed by recall vote of
his Division's members.  See: *


*https://law.justia.com/codes/connecticut/2012/title-33/chapter-602/section-33-1088/
<https://law.justia.com/codes/connecticut/2012/title-33/chapter-602/section-33-1088/>
item
(b) *


Bylaw 47(b) *NEW* - gives the BoD the ability to impose reprimands and
censure *without prior notice *and *without affording the accused the right
to be heard on the accusations.*


Bylaw 48  *NEW *- imposes binding arbitration in resolution of disputes.
It would curtail current rights to bring suit.


Appendix B - Code of Conduct - completely replaces prior version without
any significant changes - *in my opinion this a poorly conceived policy
statement that should be completely re-written more in line with those of
other non profit organizations.  *


There are just* 26 days* remaining before the ARRL Board Meeting.  In
my *personal opinion
*as an ARRL Life Member (and not your FRC President), something must be
done quickly to prevent the ARRL Board of Directors from adopting these
changes without adequate review by the membership.


After reading the documents and considering the impact they may have upon
you as a League Member and how the ARRL will likely be governed going
forward, I urge you to communicate your thoughts on the proposed changes
with your Division Director, all other ARRL Division Directors, the ARRL
Officers, the ARRL CEO and other ARRL Members.


*Note*:  The motions of N2YBB that were previously reported *are a separate
set of issues and are not contained within this revision of the governing
documents*.  You should consider also expressing your thoughts about the
N2YBB motions as well the changes described above.


*Do not assume *your comments will be distributed to all parties at the
ARRL automatically.  Take care to send CC copies to all intended recipients.



Respectfully,


John Crovelli, W2GD

ARRL Life Member


************************************************************
*****************
-*----Original Message--*---
*From: Marty Woll <n6vi at socal.rr.com <n6vi at socal.rr.com>**>*
To: sccc <sccc at contesting.com>
Sent: Sat, Dec 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Subject: [SCCC] Revised ARRL Articles and Bylaws and Motion

*To my fellow SCCC members,. *

*A set of proposed Articles and Bylaws changes is being proposed by
Director Norris (Delta Division), no doubt with substantial drafting by one
or more attorneys on the “front row”. *

*Note in particular the following proposals: *

*A change to Bylaw 2 would allow the Board to revoke a membership. I wonder
how this would sit with Life Members, who paid good and valuable
consideration for their life memberships – isn’t that called a contract? I
further wonder who among the general membership they might decide to go
after?*

*Bylaw 11 would be changed to as a consequence of removal under the changed
Bylaw 46. *

*Bylaw 41 would have an added provision that the Ethics & Elections
Committee apply the Policy on Board Governance and Conduct. *

*Bylaw 47(a) would allow the Board to terminate the term of an officer,
Director or Vice Director by terminating their ARRL membership (therefore
rendering them ineligible to serve). This change appears to me to be
inconsistent with Section 33-1088 of Connecticut State Law, which provides
that, if a director is elected by a subset of the voting body (members, in
the League’s case), only the members of that subset can remove him or her.
(Of course, I’m not an attorney; it’s just that I can read and understand
English.) *

*Bylaw 47(b) would allow a censure with no advance notice and no
opportunity for the targeted individual to be heard. *

*Bylaw 48 would require the use of binding arbitration and prohibit legal
action through the courts. *

*Less onerous but still likely to be seen negatively by members is the
change proposed to Bylaw 9 to eliminate the transferability of a Silent
Key’s Life Membership to a surviving spouse who is licensed and a current
ARRL member. *

*If this is not the direction members want ARRL to go, then they had better
let their respective directors know ASAP; the Board discussion voting takes
place in just four weeks. *

*Those of you in the Southwestern Division probably know where our Director
stands on these changes, but be sure your friends in other Divisions know
about this and speak up. *

*73, Marty N6VI *
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.contesting.com/pipermail/mldxcc/attachments/20171226/e2eabd5b/attachment-0001.html>