It's not illegal for them to ask you to come to a meeting at a time you're not scheduled to work, and by taking a near-political stance on why you refuse to attend, you're saying to them that you don't care about being there in general and (because that specific reason), they might think you have an inflated sense of self and think you're above your job (maybe you are, maybe you aren't, but it's not a good way to succeed).
Never said I thought it was illegal. Your response is what is wrong with the entire meeting situation.
I'll give you some insight into me.
I have never been late for work, ever, at any job in the last two decades.
I have always shown up to work 20 minutes before the scheduled time and I never leave before the scheduled time. Often, I am at work 5-10 minutes after the scheduled time. As with #1, this is for any company I've worked at.
I am the problem solver at my company. Give me any task, any process, that takes hours, days, or weeks to complete and I will find a way to do it faster and more efficiently than anyone before more. My latest task wasted 120 man hours to complete. I reduced it to six.
I have three degrees and 20 certifications. The degrees vary from IT to Mathematical computation. The certifications vary from OS to server to database to project management.
I am willing to adjust my work hours to make it so that the meeting is within my scheduled hours on the day of the meeting. The company refused this offer.
I frequently offer to cover last minute call outs. For example, the past two weeks, I've been leaving at 12am and going back to work at 8am over the weekend.
Up until two weeks ago, I would not have been paid to attend a meeting.
My complaint about meetings is not that I have to attend one outside of work but that I should attend one within my scheduled hours or no more than an hour before my scheduled hours. I wake up before 7am every day. I could easily attend the 11am meeting. But that is not the point of my issue with it. I shouldn't have to sacrifice my personal time to attend a meeting that serves me no good other than to attend a meeting. If the current director of the department feels I shouldn't be a manager because I don't want to physically attend a meeting (btw, I've told them I would call in if it was offered) then that is their prerogative. Its a bit of a dumb reason imo, but not one I will fault them for.