Rhetorical question to point out that there has been no communication on release of this new, all-important document, which units use day-to-day...  

Actually, yes.  By coincidence there is a copy sitting in front of me right now that I filled out last week. 

Count me in that group that made the mistake, thinking national would force them to fix the safety issue

Disrespectful Pros has been the norm in my Scouting career. That has involved many years in 6 councils, and i cannot tell you the number of pros. Good ones leave because they also get abused and disrespected.

As councils merge this behavior becomes less and less acceptable due to the talent pool being forced to optimize as the promotion path steepens. A bad professional in a pool of 10 doesn't look so bad due to limited peer comparison opportunities. Toss that professional into a pool of 30 peers and average or mediocre will reveal as poor and incapable.