Staffers Worried About AAR's Future

A Close Call

Most Recent Air America Payroll Days Late


(***UPDATED***)


Just how bad are workplace conditions for Air America staffers?

Perhaps far worse than we'd previously thought.

It's bad enough the company is generating fresh bad publicity almost daily, over the diverted $875,000 in taxpayer funds intended for a Bronx-based community service organization.

Now, to make matters worse, an internal memo obtained by the Radio Equalizer indicates Air America Radio employees faced late paychecks just over a week ago.

They were apparently stunned to receive a last-minute notice sent at 5:09pm Thursday, July 28th, indicating direct deposits would not be made Friday, as expected.

Written by company Vice President/Finance Sinohe Terrero (this article confims Terrero's corporate role), it implied the payroll processing company was to blame:


We have been advised by ADP that Direct Deposit will probably not post until Monday. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cost (sic). If you have any questions please feel free to call me.

Sinohe Terrero

VP Finance

212-871-****
718-807-****


Was it really a foul-up at ADP, the nation's largest payroll processing company?

Have you ever known ADP to delay direct deposits, due to its own negligence?

I thought not.

Worried insiders think the real problem may be something far more alarming: a lack of ready cash to make payroll on Friday, July 29th.

According to sources, it was a race against the clock to pay staffers that day, one that failed. An expected cash infusion arrived late, causing the mad scramble.

What a miserable weekend that must have been for the network's shafted workers, wondering about the fate of their next paychecks.

Since Air America employees face non-disclosure policy agreements, they've been speaking on condition of anonymity.

The sense of real trouble ahead compels them to divulge information. And maybe they're just tired of the hassles.

It doesn't appear many AAR staffers were fooled by the suggestion ADP might be responsible. Perhaps they've heard it all before, while the company assumes they're gullible?

Here's the kicker: could this mean the reported $13 million Air America received in March is already used up?

How could that be?

(new update) Since the new loan is said to be for a mere $2.5 million, it would not seem to be enough to cover AAR's huge overhead for long.

If $13 million didn't last six months, could $2.5 million cover more than say, six weeks?

That means more nail-biting for staffers this summer, with no stated concessions by Franken regarding his enormous salary. It seems that paying him is more important than kids, seniors, Air America staffers and whether the network even remains on the air.

And how's the revenue picture shaping up?

If there were a significant number of national advertisers paying top dollar before (unlikely given the low ratings), it's hard to believe that agencies would be buying Air America at all now, in light of this growing scandal.

If you're GM, a mobile phone company, or a food industry giant, do you want your good corporate name tarnished by an association with Air America?

No wonder the company wants a lengthy, interest-free installment plan to repay Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club. Everything it does have is going to fund bloated salaries for Franken and other hosts, who appear to make far more than industry norms.

Why doesn't Franken volunteer for a substantial pay cut, so the network might be saved and inner-city children can have their Boys and Girls Club fully operational, once again?

Update: welcome to LaShawn Barber, Michelle Malkin, Powerline, Hugh Hewitt, Orbusmax, STLMedia and other readers today!

Barber and Malkin each have excellent updates today, where they put the Air America issue into larger contexts, don't miss either. Ed at Captain's Quarters provides additional analysis.

Also, Cam Edwards weighs in today. I'll be a guest on his NRANews program today at 4:20pm EDT, heard on the SIRIUS Patriot Channel. More interview updates to be posted later, some still have tentative times.

Welcome Little Green Footballs and UNCoRRELATED readers! Thanks to Charles at lgf and the guys at UNCoRRELATED for their support today.

Update: Lance at Red State Rant asks:

"One question Brian: I wonder if Air America is late in making its witholdings to state and Federal government agencies?"

Lance takes the debate into a different direction, with a tie-in to liberal demands for a return to the Fairness Doctrine era. Not to be missed.

--- Macho Nachos has another update here.

--- lgf poster 3wood makes this point:

I have overseen payroll as part of my job for 16 years and used automatic deposit systems for many years.

Because of the timing of things, you have to have payroll pretty much wrapped up by Wednesday of pay week (which is why you pay 2 weeks in arrears), so I can see no way this was a payroll processing issue.

You have to wire out the money the day before payroll is due, and the wire window usually closes by about 11:00 am. That means they knew by noon on Thursday they were going to miss payroll and spent the rest of the day making up the payroll processing issue as an excuse.

Plus they sent the email notice out too late for any staffers to call the payroll company and double check the story.

I don't buy it.


Franken/Scandal by Darleen Click, others by Pete at IHillary.

Your Amazon orders that originate with clicks here (no matter what you actually order), help to fund my upcoming major site upgrade expenses. Thanks for your help!