By Paul Jackson, Listener-Sponsor KPFK-FM
The song changes, but the name remains the same: Save KPFA, formed in 1999 for the purpose of addressing the station’s needs vis-a-vis the Pacifica network of which it’s a valued part was a respectable organization in its own right. Savekpfa.org is a site whose current owners had little or nothing to do with those events of 15 years ago. Cleverly borrowing the name, they seek to reawaken the memories of that deeply unsettling conflict and to re-invoke the us-versus-them, station autonomy-versus-oppressive network paradigm.
The strategy is one of conflict avoidance: Just make Reese “go away,” and none of us will have to relive those awful experiences of 15 years ago. A powerful psychological appeal; but an utter failure to live up to Pacifica’s tradition of honest inquiry.
Again and again, the Wilkinson faction has announced far and wide—on savekpfa.org and more reliable outlets—that by a vote of 11 to 7 on March 13th, this faction of PNB has declared Reese terminated. (You know how to count numbers, don’t you? Eleven is greater than seven. And you recognize majority rule, don’t you?) With indignation, this “majority” declaration is iterated and reiterated, seeming to support the faction’s demands that she “exit” and “just go away.”
True democracy holds a prime location in Pacifica’s 65-year-old tradition. Yet Lewis Hill knew that Hitler came to power through a formal democratic process. That monstrous leader did receive a majority vote. Taking a cue from Nazi Germany’s awful experience, Hill also believed that in situations and settings far beyond, governance—whether carried on in the name of the majority or otherwise—should not be exercised with an arbitrary bludgeon. Creating a precious outlet for dissent against war, oppression and tyranny in any form or setting, Hill believed that all governance processes should be open, transparent, and accountable, giving the best opportunity for honoring the rights of all.
Several U.S. Presidents who’ve wrought havoc on the world came to power through a majority vote. A procedure of accountability, such as opening the floor of the U.S. Senate to debate certification of George W. Bush’s purported election in 2000, which then-Vice President Al Gore failed to do, was in order, despite the purported “majority vote” of the U.S. electorate.Savekpfa.org proclaims those 11 directors who voted to terminate Reese were “democratically-elected.”
It is, in fact, a mistake to identify a nonprofit as simply a democratic organization under the majority rule of “democratically-elected” directors. It is a form of organization requiring accountability and transparency. But even to gain the right to vote as a member, one must have paid one’s membership dues. For that reason, Pacifica’s are not purely democratic elections. They, like all other procedures, pertain to the governance of the foundation, defined by its Bylaws. This set of requirements gives the proper context, so that a rational discussion can ensue.
Those U.S. Presidents, and certainly Hitler’s brutal reign, are a far cry from the Wilkinson faction’s. The point here is merely that majority rule does not answer all questions respecting civil rights. Engagement of a procedure intended for accountability, such as the progressive discipline in Article V of Reese’s Employment Contract, is what the Wilkinson-led directors on PNB could have done had they been living up to their calling.
They could have initiated that procedure to address any qualms over Reese’s performance as ED and given her an opportunity to respond to their concerns. This might have resolved their concerns, and produced a more stable outcome, such as was intended by her contract and contracts generally.
Instead, they proceeded to vote without discussion or even an agenda item to vote that she be terminated. They did not engage in honest, or any inquiry. They tried none of the steps required by Article V of Reese’s contract, which they purported to terminate forthwith. It is reasonable to infer these same directors had one or more discussions out of PNB meetings; that they did not personally inquire of the relevant facts regarding Reese’s performance but relied on hearsay and innuendo within their faction; and that such failure to take action “personally” was a clandestine practice prohibited by the PNB Bylaws (Art. Six, § 6).
During PNB’s open meeting on March 13th– preceding the closed meeting at which those 11 votes were temerariously cast–Tony Norman opined Reese “serves at our pleasure.” If this were so, any nonprofit could toss out any officer or employee despite the contract for which the individual had the right to expect continued service. His said opinion appears to heed the Bylaws but completely ignores Reese’s contract—a glaring omission by the Pennsylvania attorney who himself held office in a local government in the District of Columbia while running for and holding the Director-seat he now purports to hold, all in violation of the Bylaws (Art. Five, § 1, ¶ B). A continuing breach, such as Norman’s ongoing occupation of the seat, can be raised as a point of order at any time (RONR § 28, p. 251).
Further, the so-called “majority vote” to terminate Reese on March 13th is clouded by the fact the PNB was not fully constituted at the time by reason of Norman’s unlawful occupation of a seat: “There shall be a minimum of twenty-two (22) and a maximum of twenty-three (23) directors of the [Foundation]” (Art. Five, § 1, ¶ C).
Though touting legitimacy by the so-called “majority” vote of 11 “democratically-elected” directors, the bold members of the Wilkinson faction fail to live up to the democratic and orderly requirements of Pacifica Foundation Radio. And they completely ignore an employment contract to which the Bylaws state PNB’s powers are subject or limited. We daresay Lewis Hill would be disappointed.