KPFA Pledge Drive is happening

[Barrie]

If you miss the Morning Show, this is an excellent time to subscribe and sign the petition to get rid of the Local Station Board Member who is behind the end of the Morning Show. Search "SaveKPFA" to find the petition. This announcement will likely generate a series of insulting messages from people opposing SaveKPFA, I choose to not dialog with them. I trust you to make up your own mind according to the quality of programming, etc.

Barrie

["Mad" Miles]

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/20...8/18664455.php

[zenekar]

If you miss the Morning Show, this is an excellent time to subscribe and sign the petition to get rid of the Local Station Board Member who is behind the end of the Morning Show. Search "SaveKPFA" to find the petition. This announcement will likely generate a series of insulting messages from people opposing SaveKPFA, I choose to not dialog with them. I trust you to make up your own mind according to the quality of programming, etc.

Barrie

Barrie, Insulting messages? No! How about a broader perspective than what is presented at "SaveKPFA." To understand who is behind the end of the previous Morning Show, it's helpful to know the history that led up to it. You may find Bryan Edwards-Tiekert's name mentioned. Read the article at the URL Miles posted (https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/201...8/18664455.php). Also check the information at https://www.supportkpfa.org. By the way, dialog can be enlightening and constructive.

For those who missed it, this announcement may help:

This is in response to what had been recently presented repeatedly on the KPFA airwaves as "news", but is blatant misinformation about what occurred with regard to the layoffs of the two co-hosts of the old Morning Show. We would like to set the record straight.

Brian Edwards-Tiekert was not reinstated. “Reinstated” implies that management decided to bring him back. The decision was always his. Edwards-Tiekert always had the option, which he eventually exercised, to come back and claim a job from a worker with less seniority, as per the union contract. Edwards-Tiekert was paid back wages, not to settle arbitration, but to avoid the need for future costly arbitration.

Pacifica and KPFA were forced to pay more than $51K in legal fees, which they
can ill afford, because of a baseless grievance filed by Aimee Allison. The
NLRB conclusion was clear and correct: “…none of the allegations have merit.”
All other charges were either dismissed or withdrawn by the union.

Both layoffs were for budgetary reasons in order to bring expenses in line
with reduced income and met all of the contractual obligations with CWA Local 9415.

Sally Sommer and Susan da Silva
__________________________________________________________________

(Below is the transcript of the actual news broadcast)

"Former kpfa morning show co-host Aimee Allison has lost her arbitration case against the Pacifica Foundation. Allison and the union which represents KPFA's employees, the Communication Workers of America Local 9415, charged Pacifica with violating the collective bargaining agreement when Allison and morning show co-host Brian Edwards-Tiekert were laid off last November for what Pacifica management said were budgetary reasons.

KPFA's union grieved their layoffs and then filed for arbitration. Pacifica reinstated Edwards-Tiekert in February and paid him back wages to settle that arbitration. Pacifica chose to fight Allison's grievance in arbitration where it prevailed. In addition, 3 unfair labor practices complaints that this same union filed with the National Labor Relations Board have been closed as one was dismissed and 2 were withdrawn by the union."

(transcribed by Virginia Browning)
_____________________________________________________________________

In a statement Pacifica executive director Arlene Engelhardt says quote,

"I am pleased that Pacifica was vindicated on all counts and that these
matters have now been resolved".

Pacifica and the union split the cost of the arbitrator's fee, each paying
$5400 through the end of March before the actual arbitration procedure began.
Pacifica paid the law firm of Folger Levin $51,598 to contest the union
charges, an amount that Pacifica has billed to KPFA.

[Dixon]

I used to be neutral about this horrendous conflict between the so-called "SaveKPFA" faction of entrenched workers on the one hand, and KPFA/Pacifica management and many staff and supporters on the other. But reading material from both sides has convinced me that the "SaveKPFA" faction is using distortions, lies and secrecy to further the goals of a few "entitled" entrenched staff at the expense of reason, fairness, and the overall good of the KPFA community. If I were the boss there, I'd have fired Brian Edwards-Tiekert among others long ago for their unethical use of on-air time to broadcast their distorted and one-sided claims, among other things.

I encourage everyone who supports the deceptively-named "Save KPFA" bunch to read not just their stuff, but also the stuff linked to by "zenekar". I've read both sides. Browsing around that SupportKPFA site helped me enormously in understanding what's really going on there, especially the Myths and Facts section which demolishes a lot of the "SaveKPFA" faction's dishonest claims.

My old friend Barrie keeps trying to appeal to people's desire to bring back the old Morning Show, to get them to support the "SaveKPFA" faction. But there is so much more at stake here than the existence of any one particular show, including issues such as whether the desires of a few entrenched individuals will trump the overall good of the community, and whether KPFA and Pacifica will even be able to stay financially solvent. Again, even if Barrie doesn't like hearing it, I must insist that deciding which side to support based on whether they'll bring back your favorite show regardless of those far more important issues is self-centered, short-sighted and irresponsible. Do the right thing, folks, if you want KPFA, the best radio station in the world, to survive and thrive. Support KPFA, not the "SaveKPFA" faction.

[peggykarp]

Personally I like the Morning Mix much better than the recent (post-Kris and Philip) incarnations of the morning show. The topics and guests are more what I'm interested in. I hope the savekpfa supporters can take a step back, look at the bigger picture of where the country is right now, and think about whether they really want to use the station's and listeners' energy in this fight when the national political situation is so dire.

If you miss the Morning Show, this is an excellent time to subscribe and sign the petition to get rid of the Local Station Board Member who is behind the end of the Morning Show. Search "SaveKPFA" to find the petition. This announcement will likely generate a series of insulting messages from people opposing SaveKPFA, I choose to not dialog with them. I trust you to make up your own mind according to the quality of programming, etc.

Barrie

[theindependenteye]

My two cents--

It seems to me that KPFA's problems are these:

1. The public factional fighting, which (a) gives many supporters the sense that the whole thing is a lost cause, (b) drives away potential volunteers for fear of getting involved in the perpetual food-fight, and (c) is the worst possible advertisement of how a "left-wing" administration would manage the affairs of a city, state, nation or dog-show. "Transparency" is a great idea, except when it results in chronic public dysentery.

2. No sense of cooperation within the programming staff, whether paid or volunteer: no cross-promotion, no indication that anyone listens to anyone else, no promos during the breaks for other shows, very little station promo outside a few scattered events, nothing evident (to me, at least) that the station actually is trying to increase listenership. It's only in the plaintive fundraising pitches that the ethos of the station is evoked.

3. No clear indication that the station has any notion how to solve its fiscal problems. Desperate pleas work for a while, but not for long: as I hear the current fundraising pitches, I just hear more futility, and as someone who's spent about 40 years fundraising (in theatre) I can say that people ultimately respond to success (or at least to "hope") more strongly than to desperation. Why should I give now when I've already given and every two months hear people (especially on the 5 pm and 6 pm slots) try to shame me into giving more? They just sound like cattle in the death line at the slaughterhouse. Does the station employ a professional fundraiser? Is there any significant source of funds besides low-level private giving (by low-level I mean $1,000 or under)? Is it utterly immoral to do ads (aka "acknowledgements") a la KRCB for non-profit groups, arts events, or small businesses? When we had a show on KPFA for 3.5 years, there was absolutely no one to talk to at the station about cooperative fundraising — all we got was a warning about who *couldn't* sponsor it, I guess on the premise that *any* sponsorship was morally equivalent to Monsanto or Dupont. I don't know the answer, but if KPFA is depending on on-air fundraisers, every one of these is going to be one more shovel-full for a nice big grave.

I wish I weren't feeling so negative about it. This round, I'm just mostly keeping it turned off, except for "Across the Great Divide." Cop-out? You bet.

Feeling fairly shitty--
Conrad

[zenekar]

Akio Tanaka, KPFA LSB, sums it up well:


Who Actually Saved KPFA 94.1 fm?

It is understandable that the previous management would be reluctant to lay people off, but in 2008
the station went into deficit spending and was in danger of bankruptcy. So, finally the Pacifica
Foundation, which is fiscally responsible for the network of five stations, stepped in and made cuts in
staffing.

Instead of acknowledging that Pacifica had carried out the thankless but necessary task of cutting
expenses, some of the paid staff affiliated with the Communication Workers of America (CWA)
claimed that layoffs were not necessary and that there had been union busting on the part of
Pacifica. They alarmed many paid staff by claiming there was a political hit list of people to be laid
off. The „hit list‟ was the union seniority list.

What Pacifica actually did was to offer voluntary severance to all employees. Seven people took the
deal, and in the end, two people were laid off, Aimee Allison and Brian Edwards-Tiekert. Edwards-
Tiekert had the option to exercise his seniority bumping rights.

The layoffs followed the union contract which says: “In cases where skill, ability, knowledge and job
performance are all equal, or could be equal in the opinion of the Employer after reasonable
orientation and training, seniority shall prevail”, but CWA claimed the layoffs violated the terms of the
union contract and filed three grievances with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and asked
for an arbiter to rule on reinstating Edwards-Tiekert ad Allison to the Morning Show. These claims
led many labor supporters to voice solidarity with the CWA.

Over the next several months, two anonymous websites, SaveKPFA and KPFAworker, waged a
campaign to vilify Pacifica Executive Director, Arlene Engelhardt.

In February, Edwards-Tiekert exercised his bumping rights and returned as a P/T news reporter. In
April, the NLRB issued an advice memo dismissing one of the three CWA grievances and CWA then
withdrew the two remaining grievances. In July, the arbiter ruled against Allison‟s reinstatement.

Pacifica was vindicated on all counts associated with or having to do with labor issues.

KPFA has a solid line-up of Al-Jazeera English at 6am, Democracy Now! at the prime commute time
of 7am, and Morning Mix at 8am, hosted by both volunteers and staff who stepped up to help the
station during these financially difficult times.

Most importantly, the station is on the road back to financial stability.

However, the people who tried to vilify Arlene Engelhardt are now trying to recall Tracy Rosenberg
from the local station board.

Rosenberg saw that KPFA was on a path to a fiscal train wreck and carried out her fiduciary duty as a
member of the National Finance Committee in trying to save both KPFA and Pacifica from financial ruin.
She also tried to help publicize the new Morning Mix show. Both actions served the interest of KPFA
and the Foundation.

It is understandable that with the political division KPFA has experienced over the past several years
that any layoff produces controversy, but we should all remember that the ideals and goals we share
are far stronger than our differences. And the people need KPFA and Pacifica more than ever before.