DirectEmployers Response

["Bill Warren" <bill@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

DirectEmployers Association is a nonprofit HR consortium of leading
global employers formed to improve labor market efficiency through the
sharing of best practices, research and the development of technology.

 

To be clear, DirectEmployers Association is a member of SHRM, IAEWS, and
the .jobs community.  As a member in good standing of IAEWS, I would
like to submit my formal complaint for the public record to the
premeditated tactics and strategies used by the IAEWS organization to
not only outright pollute and discredit this ICANN public comment forum
but also Employ Media, the .jobs sTLD, and SHRM.

 

We have performed considerable due diligence with regards to Employ
Media's proposed amendment, the work of the .jobs PDP Council, the
involvement by SHRM managing the PDP process, and the RSEP document as
set forth by Employ Media to ICANN.  We urge the ICANN staff and Board
to appreciate what we have to say in this correspondence is coming from
a position of knowledge and education based substantively upon the
available documents published by SHRM and Employ Media enabling anyone
else to do same.

 

First, we wish to communicate that the overwhelming majority of opposing
comments - and we've reviewed each - clearly indicate no review of the
substantial body of work that comprises the RSEP submission by Employ
Media.  Further, we feel it is likely that most stating opposition is
unaware of the existence of this body of work, a point we will come back
to later.  At a high level, DirectEmployers Association is calling into
question the worthiness and/or value - to anyone - of what we consider
the bulk of the comments that have not reviewed the relevant and
pertinent documents that comprise Employ Media's RSEP towards the goal
of an informed opinion of benefit to all.

 

This ICANN venue, this very RSEP process, is a culmination of
substantial and credible community due diligence led by SHRM, well
documented for public view.  DirectEmployers Association proposed to
Employ Media a beta test to gather real market data to determine if
names that are not company names would in fact serve needs of the HR
community as the .jobs Charter requires.  Its indeed the credible
evidence produced along the way to serve needs of the community, that
has led to this RSEP submission, that has caused those feeling
threatened to launch an outright discrediting campaign against the
principals, primarily SHRM and Employ Media.  

 

As the policy delegate to .jobs, SHRM managed a policy development
process to arrive at a bottom up, consensus recommendation in the
interests of the specific community .jobs exists to serve.  Outreach as
part of this included public discussions, scientific surveying, and
focus groups.  The end result, by super majority of the Council, was to
recommend Employ Media's proposed amendment to allocate names that are
not company names.  The scope of this recommendation was Council's
determination, based upon the results of its outreach, that needs of the
community would be served, exactly as the .jobs Charter requires.

 

Some feeling threatened by what the evidence has produced, and/or
unhappy a policy recommendation did not go their way, want to
conveniently ignore the substantial due diligence that has led to this
point, being the RSEP process.  What have been appalling are the methods
devised by IAEWS to spread what is nothing less than a smear campaign
using modern day technology such as e-mail, blogs, and twitter, to
mobilize as many people as possible to complete one action - submit a
chain letter of opposition to this forum.  The blatancy of this as a
premeditated strategy is clear by the fact that they don't even try to
hide it, and in fact seemingly proud of it.  This is nothing less than
an embarrassment to the HR community in the eyes of the ICANN community
and those that follow it.

 

The smear campaign as led by IAEWS has had at least one public call for
additional funding.  So clearly this is a funded campaign.  The law firm
that IAEWS has retained is the same law firm representing the .xxx TLD
application, and likely the same partner.  It is not a coincidence that
the same chain letter tactics and spread of disinformation that have
been used in those public comment venues have shown up in the .jobs RSEP
public comment venue.  But there is a big difference:  This is an ICANN
RSEP venue, not a bottom up policy public comment venue.  ICANN should
recognize this difference even if those that do not care do not.  The
law firm seems to clearly have advised IAEWS to Astroturf this forum
rather provide the pertinent RSEP material to those they want to
mobilize towards the ability to make an informed comment.

 

DirectEmployers Association, representing employer interests beyond just
its members as required by our own by-laws, supports ICANN approval of
Employ Media's RSEP in the interests of employers.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill

 

 

Bill Warren

Executive Director

 

  <http://www.directemployers.org/> 

 

DirectEmployers Association, Inc.

(317) 874-9001  Direct

(866) 268-6206  Toll-free

www.DirectEmployers.org