Taking the Plunge

[Multiple Sports]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

It's 100% off-season for me. I won't throw up a jump ball until November. I can't take time off from work to go to camps (I'm the best Ammonia/Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen analyst they've got, and summer is our busiest season at the laboratory). Connecticut is an all IAABO state, and IAABO, and the AAU, have not seen eye to to eye in regard to AAU tournament assignments, and in regard to fee schedules. Two summers ago, our IAABO state board considered barring all IAABO members from officiating in AAU tournaments, until litigious terms like "self employed", "independent contractors", and "restraint of trade", started to be thrown around, and then the state board backed off. But they still have "discouraged" us from officiating in AAU tournaments, and my local board has taken a strong leadership role in discouraging it's members from AAU officiating. I'm a "company man", and usually don't like to "rock the boat", so here I sit, hoping that other Forum members post their summer plays, questions, comments, and experiences.

I did recently take up kayaking, so maybe that will keep me occupied until the autumn.

BM - I am a IAABO member and I thought that IAABO was a "teaching" organization??? How can the state board tell you what you can and can't work ???? It seems to me that the assingers don't want you to work becuasse the fees will be under what he would ask for and this is eventually taking money out of their pocket....

Looking foward to hearing your reply........

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Multiple Sports

How can the state board tell you what you can and can't work ????

They can't. They thought that they could, but when a few officials, and AAU tournament directors, started "rattling sabers", and throwing around litigious terms like "self employed", "independent contractors", and "restraint of trade", the state board, and thus our local board, put "their tails between their legs" and backed down.

Basically it was an attempt by the IAABO state board to increase AAU fees by creating a monopoly over all AAU assignments, like IAABO presently has over all public high school assignments, all high school prep school assignments, and a very large number of middle school assignments.

The coup failed. Now the state board, and our local board, have simply "discouraged" members from officiating AAU tournaments that have not "signed on" with IAABO. We have been told to "hang together", that eventually, if enough of us refuse to officiate in AAU tournaments not affiliated with an "official" IAABO assigner, AAU tournament directors will "come running to us", "begging" to pay us the fees that the state board thinks that we deserve.

Besides being "discouraged" from accepting such AAU assignments, we have been reminded that while officiating such assignments, we are not covered by the IAABO insurance policy, we may not wear the IAABO patch, and that we cannot work with a non-IAABO member.

[APG]

Say an official decides to go ahead and work in "non-approved" tournaments...I'm guessing that wouldn't help his/her schedule during the regular season?

[JRutledge]

And this is where organizations are going to get themselves in trouble. Unless we are employees and they are paying some other bills and expenses of those employees, they are a lawsuit away from that practice stopping.

Peace

[26 Year Gap]

That is completely nuts. Having off-season work allows officials to focus on points of their games that need strenghtening. I couldn't imagine going from mid-February until mid-November WITHOUT working in between. Glad my IAABO chapter didn't take that view.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by 26 Year Gap

That is completely nuts. Having off-season work allows officials to focus on points of their games that need strengthening. I couldn't imagine going from mid-February until mid-November WITHOUT working in between. Glad my IAABO chapter didn't take that view.

I probably should have mentioned this in my earlier post, but there was another reason for this "hostile takeover" attempt. As stated "This policy is to guarantee that IAABO members are fairly offered the opportunity to service AAU and other independent tournaments in their respective regions working for fair and guaranteed fees".

AAU tournament directors were employing very small groups of officials to work their tournament games, and these small group of officials were working as many games, and making as much money, as they could physically, and mentally, bear. If you were an official who wanted to work AAU games in the offseason, you had to know the "secret handshake". AAU tournament directors would use a very small group of officials as "assigners" for various tournaments, and these "assigners" would only assign games to their close friends.

Because so many officials, eager to make some offseason money, or eager to get in some offseason experience, were getting "shut out" from working these games, the IAABO state board, and the local boards, wanted to try to "spread the wealth", thus allowing all officials who wanted to work such tournaments the opportunity to do so. The hope of the state board was that instead of a very small group of officials working a dozen games each over a weekend tournament, that a larger group of officials would work two, or three, games each over the weekend.

AAU tournament directors, wanting to keep their fees as low as possible, and small groups of officials, wanting to protect their "cash cows", got together, throwing out terms like "independent contractor", and "restraint of trade", and that stopped the state board "dead in its tracks".

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Besides being "discouraged" from accepting such AAU assignments, we have been reminded that while officiating such assignments, we are not covered by the IAABO insurance policy, we may not wear the IAABO patch, and that we cannot work with a non-IAABO member.

I'm no attorney but I wonder if this section of the IAABO constitution may come back to bite your state board?

Section 12. RIGHTS OF MEMBERS.
Members, including Provisional Members, may wear the official uniform; annually receive a membership card and the Handbook; officiate with other members of this Association; and shall receive such other benefits as may be provided by the Association or its Boards. There are no restrictions upon members as to where they function. If and when an official, who is a member of the Association, officiates in a game played in a location not under the geographical jurisdiction of the Board of which he is a member, he is to be governed by the rules, regulations and fee schedules which govern Board members in that area.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JetMetFan

I'm no attorney but I wonder if this section of the IAABO constitution may come back to bite your state board?

I'm not an attorney either, nor do I play one on television, but the following advice has been given to all our members, in writing:

"If you officiate for a non-approved assignor you are not covered by the IAABO insurance and may be asked to officiate with a non-IAABO member. If you do officiate with a non-IAABO member you cannot wear the IAABO patch and represent yourself as an IAABO member. That would be a direct violation of the Constitution".

[Bad Zebra]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I'm not an attorney either, nor do I play one on television, but the following advice has been given to all our members, in writing:

"If you officiate for a non-approved assignor you are not covered by the IAABO insurance and may be asked to officiate with a non-IAABO member. If you do officiate with a non-IAABO member you cannot wear the IAABO patch and represent yourself as an IAABO member. That would be a direct violation of the Constitution".

Are CT schools members of the FED, and thusly are IAABO members also considered members of the FED? FED insurance policy would cover members in that case.

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by Bad Zebra

Are CT schools members of the FED, and thusly are IAABO members also considered members of the FED? FED insurance policy would cover members in that case.

Would that even apply in an AAU situation? It's not school teams playing in these tournaments.

Of course, if someone is a NASO member then they'd be covered in case of any problems.

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I'm not an attorney either, nor do I play one on television, but the following advice has been given to all our members, in writing:

"If you officiate for a non-approved assignor you are not covered by the IAABO insurance and may be asked to officiate with a non-IAABO member. If you do officiate with a non-IAABO member you cannot wear the IAABO patch and represent yourself as an IAABO member. That would be a direct violation of the Constitution".

Found something else that seems like the IAABO version of Rule 2-3

Chartered Boards shall have the right to formulate their own policies including, but not limited to, voting, working with non-members, IAABO uniforms, and local Board procedures so long as those policies do not conflict with this International Constitution.

That appears to leave boards a good deal of wiggle room.

[Bad Zebra]

Originally Posted by JetMetFan

Would that even apply in an AAU situation? It's not school teams playing in these tournaments.

Of course, if someone is a NASO member then they'd be covered in case of any problems.

From the NFHS Officials Assn. website:


Insurance coverage includes:

• Coverage for all levels of officiating (youth, recreational, adult and collegiate) in sports recognized by the state high school association

• Excess General Liability

• Excess Accident Medical and Dental

• Accidental Death and Dismemberment

The key is whether IAABO members are also Fed members in that state.

[Adam]

Crazy, I work with non members regularly, as our middle schools do not have to use IAABO officials (IAABO membership is required to be certified for high school ball), and I sometimes wear a patched shirt (not often). I've never been told it's not allowed.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Bad Zebra

Are CT schools members of the FED, and thusly are IAABO members also considered members of the FED? FED insurance policy would cover members in that case.

All Connecticut high school basketball officials are IAABO members. 100%. We're the only game in town. Unless we officiate another sport, we are not members of the NFHS, in fact, we aren't even allowed to join the NFHS as individuals due to the NFHS "all or none" policy. We get our NFHS rulebooks, and NFHS casebooks, as part of our IAABO manual, which also includes the IAABO constitution, an IAABO directory, and an IAABO mechanics manual. We have IAABO insurance, and those of us who do not officiate any other sports only have IAABO insurance, we do not have NFHS insurance.

[Bad Zebra]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

All Connecticut high school basketball officials are IAABO members. 100%. We're the only game in town. Unless we officiate another sport, we are not members of the NFHS, in fact, we aren't even allowed to join the NFHS as individuals due to the NFHS "all or none" policy. We get our NFHS rulebooks, and NFHS casebooks, as part of our IAABO manual, which also includes the IAABO constitution, an IAABO directory, and an IAABO mechanics manual. We have IAABO insurance, and those of us who do not officiate any other sports only have IAABO insurance, we do not have NFHS insurance.

Sounds more like a union than an officials association. Not that there's anything wrong with that...jus' sayin'.