Originally posted May 14, 2014
Berkeley-A day after issuance of a 3-week temporary restraining order, a fairly remarkable meeting happened at the Pacifica national headquarters on May 13, 2014.
With about seven “occupiers” in residence, and after the departure of executive director Reese in the morning in deference to the court order, the three staffers brave enough to come into work eventually met with purported chair Margy Wilkinson. The three women, who according to their own reports, have experienced severe harassment during the 7 week occupation, with community members present and bearing witness, laid into Wilkinson about their distress about the rehire of former chief financial officer Raul Salvador after 5 workplace complaints were filed. They also talked in detail about KPFA’s obstruction of their work towards the completion of the audit, as well as their concerns about retaliation from the board majority.
An eyewitness who didn’t want to be identified, reported:
I think all three of the women who came in were in tears at one point or another at the very idea that she would force them to work under Raul Salvador again. When Margy asked about the audit, the staff also let her know in no uncertain terms that KPFA is the problem. Margy tried to say she wasn’t going to talk to them about it, but they didn’t let her evade the issue with all of us there. It explains a lot of why Summer felt she needed to go in there to protect her staff, and to protect the organization.
The upshot is that the national headquarters closed early at 2:00 pm PST and there are apparently more meetings scheduled tomorrow. Workers, occupiers and rogue board members all have left the building for the day.
A FAQ about the events of the last 90 days can be found here.
An open letter signed by hundreds of the network’s staffers and supporters objecting to the breach of Reese’s contract can be found here.
The court decision, if upheld on June 3rd, may also clear the way for “organizational darwinism” (as the decision to partition the network was described by attorney Dan Siegel) to prevail as the California stations may be poised to throw the weaker East Coast and Texas stations overboard by either withholding financial support or selling off the weaker units to endow the stronger ones, as some board members have publicly recommended.
The deadline for Texas station KPFT to apply for its 5th consecutive low-power waiver from the Federal Communications Commission while delaying re-licensing until it solves the transmitter problems, is May 27th, or 14 days from today.
A satirical look at the chaos at the radio stations and what the future holds amid rumors of a network breakup by the Twit Wits comedy troupe (produced by noted theatrical producer George Coates) can be found here
KPFA’s Community Advisory Board announced more town hall meetings:
- May 17th at the Marcus Garvey building at 1485 8th Street in West Oakland
- June 21st. EastSide Arts Alliance at 2277 International Boulevard in Fruitvale