ARRL is the primary American organization that represents Amateur Radio in the halls of government and sets standards and policies that affect us all. We have all embraced ARRL as a democratic institution worthy of our dedication and contributions. Essential to our support has been the open, transparent, and democratic fashion of ARRL governance conducted over the last century by its staff and elected Board of Directors.
Recently, however, certain actions of ARRL have demonstrated a profound change in this approach. We are now seeing governance conducted in near secrecy, with arbitrary policy decisions and proposed bylaw changes that will make ARRL an organization very different from what we had, expect, want, and need.
Examples of recent actions include the following (click on each item to see more detail):
The Board approved staff negotiations with the representatives of the Home Owners Association (HOA) industry, the Community Associations Institute (CAI), that produced H.R. 555/S.1534. These bills contain a flawed set of rules that give Home Owner Associations the tools needed to prohibit Amateur Radio antennas forever, not under a contractual restriction, but now under federal law. The Board reaffirmed its intention to work for passage of this legislation at the January annual meeting. We believe their action is not in the best interest of the Members or Amateur Radio.
The Board adopted a new Code of Conduct (CoC) for Directors and Officers in January 2017 that dramatically restricted the ability of Directors to discuss Board actions after they are taken, and redefined the Directors’ primary duty as loyalty to the organization rather than to their constituents. Any adverse characterization of Board actions can result in censure or reprimand for bringing the ARRL into “disrepute.” At the January Board Meeting the most restrictive sections of the CoC were “suspended” lifting the so called “gag order” language. The BOD is undertaking a rewrite of the CoC. Members will be able to review proposed changes prior to the July BOD meeting.
Motions to give four non-elected officers of the ARRL – the President and three Vice-Presidents – votes on the Board were withdrawn at the January ARRL BOD meeting. This issue appears to now be inactive but we will continue to monitor for any pursuit of this or similar proposals in the future.
At the July, 2017 Board meeting, Directors circulated among themselves, but ultimately withdrew, without opportunity for public comment, proposals to effectively eliminate the position of Vice-Director. Under current rules, when a Director resigns, dies, or is removed, the duly-elected Vice Director takes over. Under this proposal, the Board instead would appoint a replacement, giving the appointed director the obvious benefit of incumbency (name recognition) in the next election. At the January 2018 Board Meeting there was no attempt to revisit this initiative so we feel this threat may no longer be under consideration.
We have reason to believe the Board has spent significant funds on legal advice to secure opinions with regard to the legality of the Code of Conduct and other proposed rule changes. The Board and Officers cite this legal advice in defending the need for the Code of Conduct, but won’t reveal the specifics to the membership. We have asked for the ARRL to waive the attorney-client privilege so that we can see what has really been recommended. An open, non-profit membership organization like ARRL should not be hiding this information.
In November, 2017, the Board censured long-serving Southwest Division Director Dick Norton, N6AA, for disclosing the existence of the Code of Conduct at the April 2017 International DX Convention in Visalia, CA. Censure is the most serious reprimand available short of expulsion. This must be reversed. The next step would be expulsion. Currently that can be done only by vote of the members in his Division. Recent “suspension” of the most onerous sections of the CoC have lifted the “gag order” language that lead to the N6AA censure. A rewrite of the CoC has been commissioned, due before the July BOD meeting for member review.
The League’s Ethics & Elections Committee disqualified candidates K3RF and K4AC for election to the Board without explanation or opportunity for review.
Rules and processes limit or prevent Members from being informed about important governance activities. Examples include not being consulted on Governance Document changes prior to consideration at Board meetings, Meeting minutes that do not faithfully reflect the actual business transacted, including motions made and withdrawn, and exclusion of Members at Board and Executive Committee meetings. In many respects the Board does much of its business in relative secrecy without affording Members access.
The governance attitude of the proponents of these measures, including directors, officers and advisers (such as General Counsel), should frighten any ARRL member. Put simply, they are trying to stifle debate, render representation meaningless, and turn the ARRL into a closed organization very unlike what we all have enjoyed throughout our ham radio lives. We can’t let this happen.
