Tag Archives: labor

Joe Hill’s Last Will: 100 Years Later

by Bob English.

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you or me …

Swedish-American labor organizer, poet and songwriter Joe Hill was executed 100 years ago on Nov 19, 1915. Born Joel Emmanuel Hagglund, Oct 7, 1879, he emigrated to the US in 1902. Working on the West Coast as a migrant laborer in 1910, he joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the “Wobblies,” a radical union of immigrants (subjected to the anti-immigrant hysteria of that period), founded on the principle of One Big Industrial Union for all workers.  Continue reading Joe Hill’s Last Will: 100 Years Later

Collateral Damage

 

Snippet from October 22 Pacifica affiliates program committee. Affiliates Director Ursula Rudenberg reports being told she is probably going to lose her health insurance as of November 1st and national board members discuss. In order, the speakers are affiliates director Ursula Rudenberg, PNB member Janis Lane Ewart, PNB member Teresa Allen and Siegel-Brazon-affiliated board member Adriana Casenave. Continue reading Collateral Damage

Solidarity Never

News and Information about Pacifica Radio

Berkeley-8 KPFA Communications Workers of America (CWA) union members (Miguel Guerrero, Bob Baldock, Aileen Alfandary, Phillip Maldari, Sasha Lilley, Kris Welch, Brian Edwards-Tiekert and Mitch Jeserich) have failed to respond to a question from this publication about union-busting activities at sister station KPFK.

Two weeks before SAG-AFTRA enters into the biggest Pacifica labor arbitration in the past 15 years with over 20 grievances filed, the KPFA 8 affixed their name to a promotional election postcard. The postcard endorsed the re-election of Margy Wilkinson, whose appointment of Leslie Radford on her last day as Pacifica’s volunteer executive director precipitated the union crisis at KPFK. A long list of grievances with Radford were laid out by SAG-AFTRA members in a letter of no confidence, signed by 27 KPFK staff members including shop steward Christine Blosdale and Uprising host Sonali Kolhatkar. Former KPFA-CWA members John Hamilton and Esther Manilla also signed the letter of no confidence alleging union busting activities. The  election postcard went on to accuse listener candidates running in opposition to Wilkinson as “defending anti-union activities of previous regimes”.

When asked point blank if they were defending the anti-union activities of the currrent regime, the KPFA 8 individually and jointly refused to respond. It is extremely unusual for union members working for the same organization to seek to undermine each other during a labor action, especially so close to the beginning of arbitration. Among the issues that will be arbitrated are: Continue reading Solidarity Never

The To Do List

News and Information about Pacifica Radio

Berkeley-Some communications between KPFK volunteer coordinator/amateur security guard Adam Rice and unpopular general manager Leslie Radford have been sent to this publication. The first consists of a set of instructions from Rice of actions for Radford to take as KPFK’s manager. The to do list is provided here in its entirety, with explanatory notes provided by this publication. Continue reading The To Do List

SAG-AFTRA Union Takes Pacifica Into Arbitration Alleging Bust of Collective Bargaining Agreement

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BerkeleyOn Thursday, the SAG-AFTRA labor union filed a demand for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association. The union stated to its members their position that Pacifica is in ongoing violation of the collective bargaining agreement. The Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Radio and Television Artists represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals. Three of Pacifica’s  four unionized stations are represented by SAG-AFTRA, one in Berkeley by the Communication Workers of America (CWA) and the Houston station remains non-unionized.  Continue reading SAG-AFTRA Union Takes Pacifica Into Arbitration Alleging Bust of Collective Bargaining Agreement