Calgary flames won’t pay their hourly staff during Covid-19

[saXon]

Originally Posted by standinmotion

When the games resume, let's put up signs to shame the owners and cheer the players who have donated.

Pay them more money for their product, and shame them with signs made from dollar store supplies...

That’ll show those pesky deep pocketed billionaire owners.

[keenan87]

A lot of people are no longer renewing their season tickets or don't want to spend another dime on tickets. Is there a way to keep track of this similar to a petition? That may get some notice especially if people follow through.

Make it viral.. I am just not sure how.

[ST20]

Originally Posted by keenan87

Yeah, but still good on him for giving. I am curious to know what the highest paid player is giving as well as Gaudreau. The two Americans who some may say aren't too connected with this city.

It'd be nice if they donated but this shouldn't have fallen on the players.

Edit: and the community who are already paying for the arena

[3thirty]

The players are also getting paid their full wage to sit at home. While they shouldn't have to donate, it's the least they can do for a lot of people they interact with on a daily basis.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by keenan87

A lot of people are no longer renewing their season tickets or don't want to spend another dime on tickets. Is there a way to keep track of this similar to a petition? That may get some notice especially if people follow through.

Make it viral.. I am just not sure how.

It’s trending on social media. Not much more you can do other than emailing/tweeting media and the team.

Also bring the owners businesses into it. Not sure about the others but Murray Edwards has business ties to plenty of corps including CNLR.

Shame these companies. They no doubt will benefit greatly from the billions in stimulus packages the governments have and will green light. And I’m sure they’ll take their extra bonuses while they’re at it.

But god forbid the owners like cheapskate and former albertan Murray Edwards actually have to treat their low level employees like humans.

[Rejean31]

Murray Edwards and the rest of the Flames ownership group should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. They are coming across as the most petty ownership group in the NHL. Harley Hotchkiss would be turning over in his grave.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Rejean31

Murray Edwards and the rest of the Flames ownership group should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. They are coming across as the most petty ownership group in the NHL. Harley Hotchkiss would be turning over in his grave.

Melnyk has this locked down.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

The players are also getting paid their full wage to sit at home. While they shouldn't have to donate, it's the least they can do for a lot of people they interact with on a daily basis.

If the owners ever actually come around 50% of their contribution will be coming out of the players pockets anyway, so the players will definitely contribute more than the owners. Typical.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

The players are also getting paid their full wage to sit at home. While they shouldn't have to donate, it's the least they can do for a lot of people they interact with on a daily basis.

I am assuming they will have to play those games eventually though so they won’t be paid twice. I suppose it’s like a question of pay people now for shifts they will work later and then pay them again when they do work the shift?

While the Flames can probably absorb that amount, what does it mean for businesses that can’t? I think the government should have something set up like they did during the floods to help out people that have been inconvenienced by this.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

Have these other hypothetical businesses also threatened to leave the city unless they received hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds?

Hypothetically? 100% yes. But we could probably bitch and moan about the arena deal in another thread.

[ThisIsAnOutrage]

Calgary Flames Announce Employee Bail-Out Program!


The covid-19 virus continues to wreak havoc across the globe as precautionary measures intended to curb its spread have shut down sports world-wide. The impact of the shutdown was felt doubly hard in Alberta, Canada where the economic outlook was already uncertain in the wake of plummeting oil prices. Many businesses have learned the hard way that just as the people cannot be inoculated against the virus itself, there is no fiscal vaccine against the secondary economic effects. Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation (CSEC) released a statement yesterday detailing its plan to see itself through the exacting circumstances:

In times like these, we are all but leaves caught in the storm. Whether you have a selection of billionaire acreages, penthouses, manses, estates, bunkers, villas, private islands, or a mid-air refueled 747 continuously circling the globe to choose as your sanctuary, or you must continue to pay rent to house your family of four in a two-bedroom apartment, we are all in this together. We at CSEC think of ourselves not as an organization, but as a corporate family.

We know that we can count on each and every member of our family to pay their fair share of the burden in these trying times. And so it is, that all of us, from the Boardroom, to the concession stand, have made the difficult decision to forgo revenue and minimum wages for the greater good of our family's future. Our sympathies lay with each and every person, household, investment fund, tax avoidance scheme, and publically funded arena deal affected by the ongoing tragedy.


We did not make this decision in haste, but sought sound legal and financial advice before jumping to any conclusion. The letter and the spirit of the law, as well as our own sense of community spirit, make clear that the decision to cease paying our employees, was the clear and responsible one to make.

Questions immediately arose following the statement's release, as it had been heralded as announcement of an employee bail-out program. Long-time Calgarian Simone Wallace-Smythe tweeted at CSEC,

Law says you don't have to pay someone, doesn't stop you from going above and beyond to help out...

After numerous retweets, and under mounting pressure, CSEC replied in the early morning:

We understand. This has been an agonizing decision for all of us. To use a hockey analogy, there's a right time and a wrong time to spear someone in the nuts.

Public outcry continued until CSEC held a press conference earlier today to address questions about the statement, and its plan. When queried about how the details amounted to an employee bailout, CSEC public relations had this to say,

Well sure it's a bailout! It works just like the one from the flood in 2013. Remember when we had to bail all of the water out of the Saddledome? We sure as hell didn't pay it to leave.

Those in attendance at the press conference would have thrown rotten tomatoes, but they are too difficult come by as families continue to stock up on food in the event of a quarantine.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I am assuming they will have to play those games eventually though so they won’t be paid twice. I suppose it’s like a question of pay people now for shifts they will work later and then pay them again when they do work the shift?

While the Flames can probably absorb that amount, what does it mean for businesses that can’t? I think the government should have something set up like they did during the floods to help out people that have been inconvenienced by this.

Off topic but i am really starting to believe this will not happen.

Just reading between the lines of what government officials are saying, this thing wont be controlled for several months.

I dont think we see regular season hockey again until October.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by keenan87

Yeah, but still good on him for giving. I am curious to know what the highest paid player is giving as well as Gaudreau. The two Americans who some may say aren't too connected with this city.

There are many ways they can be giving to many different causes.

Let’s be careful not to turn this into a player shaming exercise.

[troutman]

Mike Bell never minces words:

Crickets from the usual suspects. Lil’ #14. Millionaire prick with oily perm and floral shirts. And ####ing shill with a keyboard #flames #payyouremployees
@mrbell_23

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by troutman

Mike Bell never minces words:

Crickets from the usual suspects. Lil’ #14. Millionaire prick with oily perm and floral shirts. And ####ing shill with a keyboard #flames #payyouremployees
@mrbell_23

Lol - a lot of anger there. Who exactly is he talking about? Fleury? WTF has he got to do with this?

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

There are many ways they can be giving to many different causes.

Let’s be careful not to turn this into a player shaming exercise.

This has nothing to do with the players. The owners are unwilling to put up the money for their employees, despite the fact that 50 percent of anything the owners put up would come out of the players pockets anyways.

[scotty2hotty]

Originally Posted by keenan87

Make it viral.. I am just not sure how.

I see what you did there

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Lol - a lot of anger there. Who exactly is he talking about? Fleury? WTF has he got to do with this?

Ya Theo is just the village idiot, he has nothing to do with this.

[dirk diggler]

the sad thing is this really isnt a surprise. When you look and see a team like Detroit, even though Mike Illitch passed away and it is run by his family, you just know that they will do the right thing as that is the type of individuals they seem to be. Everything you hear about Edwards shouldnt make this a surprise. It is tough enough for Calgary to attract good free agents and this clearly will not help.

[Joborule]

It's going to be really rich when the owners come begging the city for money again in several years for a new football stadium.

They're really gonna be part of the community again then.

This is hurting them from future funding for projects they will want down the road. The level of incompetence. Wow.