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@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 25, 2017 at 3:37 PM
Subject: MORE Proposed Revisions to ARRL Articles and Bylaws
To: "cwops@yahoogroups.com" <cwops@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


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/ 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@socal.rr.com>
To: sccc <sccc@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