Blank will repay Falcons’ staff for payroll cuts during lockout (UPDATED)
Roger Goodell and NFL owners who trimmed staff's pay should follow Arthur Blank's lead and repay employees for cuts during the lockout. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
During the NFL’s nonsensical lockout, I didn’t hesitate to bang on the owners for fabricating a dire financial situation and unfairly cutting wages or laying off employees in the front office.
So it’s only fair now to inform you that at least one of those owners is trying to make amends.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who instituted across-the-board payroll cuts to all non-player employees in the team’s office in the form of two-week furloughs, will reimburse wages, the AJC has learned. On the same day as the official end to the lockout, Blank sent an email to staff members that read in part: “Any deductions to your paychecks during the lockout related to unpaid vacation days we instituted will be repaid to you.”
Team president Rich McKay and general manager Thomas Dimitroff are scheduled to meet with employees Tuesday to make the decision official. Employees at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation office also will receive back pay for their previous salary cuts. Blank, who had frozen wages during the lockout, also plans to implement wages, retroactive to March 1.
It’s a classy makeup call by Blank, negating a bad decision that never should have happened. Hopefully, the NFL office and other teams that cut wages will follow Blank’s lead.
UPDATE: Per ProFootballTalk.com, at least three teams — the New York Jets, Miami and Kansas City — have joined the Falcons in giving post-lockout back pay.
I referenced the furloughs last week when NFL owners passed a resolution to approve the CBA. For what it’s worth, I’ve been told by more than a few Falcons employees they were glad the news of the cuts was brought to light. When I asked Blank at the NFL owners meetings if he had plans to pay back employees for lost wages, he said only: “Well, that’s a personal thing for me and our associates.”
At least this story ends on a good note.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
Recent NFL blogs:
– Falcons need to attack free agency for defensive help
– Falcons Dimitroff can do without NFL’s CBA mess
– NFL lockout nears end, but this is no time to celebrate
– NFL lockout will end soon because money trumps stupidity
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82 comments Add your comment
pmc
July 25th, 2011
8:57 pm
but yeah it was the right thing to do obviously.
Foxhunter
July 25th, 2011
9:00 pm
And/or the Hawks.”…
T Dog
July 25th, 2011
9:19 pm
Arthur Blank is by far the best pro sports owner in Atlanta. I realize that wasn’t hard to achieve.
Dawg A
July 25th, 2011
9:24 pm
How about refunding me the full price I am paying (594.00) for the upcoming first preseason game. We all know it will be a inferior game at best!
SeenThisB4
July 25th, 2011
9:27 pm
Maybe ya’ll should suit up Blank at QB, he can’t be much worse than Fatt Ryan.
SCfalconfan
July 25th, 2011
9:39 pm
Classy would have been not cutting salary or furloughing the employees. Undoing your unclassy move doesn’t constitute classy.
King Arthur Blank
July 25th, 2011
9:54 pm
So glad the lockout is over. I was worried I would not get to troll the sidelines so I can get my mug on TV this year. Whew…….my 30 year old wife was going to be really upset too.
Hawks
July 25th, 2011
10:04 pm
Let’s see if we can get the most classy owner in sport history to buy the Atlanta Hawks.
Falcon Fan
July 25th, 2011
10:27 pm
Jeff you work in Georgia but you and Mark really wrote a book on Auburn and Cam…just saying.
Wish Blank would buy the Braves..1st class owner.
GaDave
July 25th, 2011
10:53 pm
Thank you Mr. Blank for showing the class to correct a mistake with employees. Now….could we talk about investing in a baseball team that needs home town ownership….
Paul in RDU
July 25th, 2011
11:40 pm
I understand but don’t agree with the negative comments about Blank. Yes, he should not have cut the salaries of his employees but he has done the right thing in reimbursing them for the lost wages.
Bob C
July 26th, 2011
12:18 am
Why can’t Arthur Blank do Basketball too? Please!!!
goodnessgracious
July 26th, 2011
12:48 am
Mr. Blank is certainly right there with the top owners in the game!
Winks
July 26th, 2011
12:48 am
On another note, excellent kissingsuzykolber rip on Peter. That’s high-level material throughout. Sublime at times.
M
July 26th, 2011
3:11 am
Wow Man!! Can I get some money for my pain and suffering of not knowing whether there will be any Football? Will tickets be cheaper?
legionaire
July 26th, 2011
7:11 am
Blank righted a wrong and it will be forgotten by tomorrow. Blank still wants the state and city to build him a new stadium so he needs good PR. Class would be if he announced that he is buying land and will build his stadium with his own funds, and will not hit up taxpayers for a dime.
murf4hof
July 26th, 2011
7:14 am
nice move, certainly didn’t have to. PERIOD
Mike
July 26th, 2011
7:32 am
The government needs Arthur Blank to talk some sense into both sides.
Dubble Dub
July 26th, 2011
7:43 am
Pay should have NEVER been cut. Billionaires vs. millionaires and yet the working men and women get the only real pay cuts that matter and affect daily living. Give me a break…I like Arthur Blank but this is no reason to pay and better yet is a reason to question this dirty move!
DC
July 26th, 2011
8:02 am
I think every sports writer wrote something on AU last year…agree with JS..no need to write something on TN..unless it somehow affects UGA, GT, GA ST, UWG, VA ST, or gordon college…
Not Disappointed
July 26th, 2011
8:55 am
In this economy that’s beyond normal. A true class Act.
Loves me some Arthur Blank!
Big Ten Champs Nebraska
July 26th, 2011
9:15 am
I don’t get the love for Blank. He chose to furlough employees because of HIS desire to participate in a lockout. He wasn’t blindsided by anyone or anything that would prevent him from making payroll payments.
He still may be one of the best NFL owners, and a benefit to the city of Atlanta, but I’m not buying in to this good guy crap here. If he really was a good guy, he never would of had to do this in the first place.
Paddy O
July 26th, 2011
9:27 am
this is called image resuscitation. He could have done it without any publicity.
Falcon Fan
July 26th, 2011
9:29 am
Unions…s@*k!
Braves or Falcons: Who's taking bigger risk minus big move? | Jeff Schultz
July 26th, 2011
9:29 am
[...] Previously: Blank will repay staff for payroll cuts during lockout [...]
Nashville Bill
July 26th, 2011
9:43 am
I understand the Titans did not cut any staff salaries. While I’m glad Mr. Blank is reimbursing his staff, I would think more highly of him had he not cut them in the first place.
BYC
July 26th, 2011
10:29 am
Blank is the man. I wish he owned all our franchises
Reggie
July 26th, 2011
10:44 am
Ok i wanna know how many people can afford to get their wages cut or stopped all together for 132 straight days then get back pay to help catch up on utilities and get your house out of foreclosure. How many people would call their employer classy? Nobody…u would all be saying “those idiots didn’t have to cut me in the first place”
zulucanibal
July 26th, 2011
11:12 am
Never rooted for the falcons til this guy became owner…such a class act!!!!
Ian
July 26th, 2011
12:54 pm
Green Bay will still destoy das Blanks Falcons this year and every years
Joe
July 26th, 2011
2:01 pm
Reggie – read the article…..the cuts were a two-week furlough…..that is 10 working days.
ag
July 26th, 2011
4:56 pm
Blanks a Jerk. The guy is worth 1.3 billion and he is cutting the salaries of people making 50k. Its not even like the Falcons had lost any money at that point. (no games missed) What he took from those hard working lower wage earners he probably spends in a month just on his private jet. An example of class were the Giants who cut no employees salary and did not even make season ticket holders pay for there tickets until the lockout ended. Blanks a phony and the media needs to stop kissing his ass.