Stop the KPFA Recall!
Let's keep Tracy Rosenberg
AUDIO of the On-Air Live Debate, Friday, June 29th, at 1 PM, between Tracy Rosenberg and recall proponent Margy Wilkinson. If you missed it, you can listen in KPFA Archives by clicking here
Most staff probably would NOT have a job at KPFA today had Pacifica's Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt not stepped up in the Fall of 2010 to do what was needed to avoid bankruptcy -- lay off some staff to stop 4 years of the hemorrhaging of money. Tracy Rosenberg, along with the rest of the Pacifica National Board, unanimously supported her. Tracy is targeted with abuse for her responsible stance, but all these people deserve a resounding "Thank You!" Internal fighting at KPFA is destructive to our station and to our culture as a whole. The KPFA listeners expect KPFA staff and our elected board representatives to learn to agree to disagree and to work things out civilly -- without resorting to character assassination, lies, and vitriol. We expect a culture of collaboration and respect where constructive work can be done, even when times are hard and hard decisions must be made.
Send a strong message to the people behind this recall effort -- Enough! Stop it!
Vote NO on the KPFA recall
Who spent 6-10 thousand dollars on one mailer for a recall before it even began?
A group called Save KPFA, not to be confused with the Save KPFA of 1993 -1999 that fought for the democratization of Pacifica so it could not be run or sold by a small self-selecting group of national board members. This group does not support a democratically run station and network.
Is the recall because KPFA is in trouble?
No. After some staff cuts, the only possible way to lower expenditures, KPFA is moving out of a million and a half dollar loss to solvency and a balanced budget. Listener support remains about the same.
Isn't Pacifica, or Arlene Engelhardt, meddling in KPFA affairs?
No. Pacifica and its Executive Director are democratically chosen by the network's 5 stations and have the task of overseeing the stations. They have preserved the network and, just last year, helped pull KPFA from near bankruptcy. In a desperate situation, the ED, Arlene Engelhardt had to make the necessary layoffs that KPFA was told to make 3 years before and didn't, as all the other 4 stations and Pacifica itself did. Normally KPFA and the other stations are independent in day-to-day operations.
Did Tracy Rosenberg participate in illegal and retaliatory layoffs?
No. She was not involved in the lay-offs. She is a local and national board member, chairperson of the Pacifica Finance Committee, and serving as a volunteer and doing her job to make sound finance and policy decisions. The layoffs themselves were done in the way mandated by the CWA union contract.
So why a recall?
It's a factional fight. What is now the SaveKPFA/KPFAworker faction have always wanted to have complete control of the station. They don't want to deal with input from community, unpaid staff and or listeners who want KPFA to be managed democratically and with more emphasis on fair community media practices.
We hope that listeners will take the time to consider the facts and decide for themselves. Those promoting the recall are relying on you seeing their names and following them without looking at the rebuttal to their accusations.
Really, just a Factional Fight?
Think about these facts you may not have heard:
* As KPFA's budget has been going up and income has been going down over the last four years, some people took voluntary layoffs, one person lost her job.
* KPFA went from a loss of over a million and a half dollars to a balanced budget.
* A popular but expensive program was replaced by a new program which cost nothing.
* Pacifica defended itself against a number of lawsuits brought by Save KPFA and its supporters that were judged to be without merit by the National Labor Relations Board, costing Pacifica and KPFA approximately $80,000 dollars.
There are decisions you might agree with or not, but they are not issues to recall a board member over, who is not individually responsible for any of these decisions. Are you, as a member of KPFA interested in delving into these controversies? Or is Save KPFA relying on you making a decision based only on their partisan positions? This recall is being done to advance the interests of one faction within the KPFA community just prior to a board election.
For more information on the particulars of the recall charges, and their rebuttals, see
Stop the KPFA Recall.org
United for Community Radio
Indybay article
Who is Tracy Rosenberg?
As Executive Director of Media Alliance, Tracy Rosenberg has built an effective protest and lobbying organization with deep connections in the non-profit and grassroots communities. She is highly regarded as an influential and devoted defender of community radio around the nation. Locally, her work with Common Frequency has helped start low power stations around the area. As the Chair of the Pacifica National Board Finance Committee, it has been an almost impossible task to work with all 5 stations to bring their expenditures in line with their incomes. She has accomplished more in this last year than had been done in the previous 4 years, when SaveKPFA and its allies were in the majority.
Still don't know how to vote? If you DON'T KNOW, VOTE NO!
These charges on the Save KPFA mailer are bogus!
-- purged KPFA's biggest fundraiser and most listened-to local program (The Morning Show), causing morning pledges to drop by more than half and putting the station's fragile finances at risk
*KPFA's financial performance improved by $500,000 in the last 12 months.
-- conducted illegal, retaliatory layoffs
*Not according to the National Labor Relations Board. It dismissed a claim that the layoffs were in violation of the union contract and found it without merit.
-- wasted more than $80,000 of listener money on an anti-union law firm
* Save KPFA filed 5 complaints at the National Labor Relations Board. All have been dismissed or withdrawn. Pacifica initiated none of these complaints or costs. Zero.
-- diverted workers' retirement contributions for other purposes
*The problem started in 2005, under a different director and CFO and years before Rosenberg served on any local or national board. Nothing to do with her whatsoever. Engelhardt and the National Board authorized a seven-year correction which is underway.
-- slapped gag rules on KPFA's staff
*Not according to the NLRB. The complaint of gag rules was dismissed and found to be without merit.
-- illegally barred KPFA's elected representatives from taking their seats on Pacifica's Board.
*Dan Siegel stated his position as a legal advisor to Jean Quan was not a political appointment although it was seen as such by the local media. Siegel then resigned from the position he argued in court he didn't have due to a political conflict of interest. Pacifica's By-laws clearly prohibit anyone with a political office from holding any office in station or Pacifica governance.
These are all trumped up charges by a partisan minority that wants to send yet ANOTHER General Manager and/or Program Director, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer packing and hasn't been able to.
For more information on the particulars of the recall charges, and their rebuttals, see
Stop the KPFA Recall.org
Indybay article
*** *** ***
*** *** ***
Updates, reports & essays about KPFA & Pacifica Foundation Radio at
UNITED FOR COMMUNITY RADIO
KPFA 94.1 FM is one of five stations of the Pacifica radio network which are located in major cities across the country. The other stations are WBAI 99.5 in New York, WPFW 89.3 in Washington DC, KPFT 90.1 in Houston, and KPFK 90.7 in Los Angeles. There are also about 160 affiliate stations.
AUDIO of the On-Air Live Debate, Friday, June 29th, at 1 PM, between Tracy Rosenberg and recall proponent Margy Wilkinson. If you missed it, you can listen in KPFA Archives by clicking here
Most staff probably would NOT have a job at KPFA today had Pacifica's Executive Director Arlene Engelhardt not stepped up in the Fall of 2010 to do what was needed to avoid bankruptcy -- lay off some staff to stop 4 years of the hemorrhaging of money. Tracy Rosenberg, along with the rest of the Pacifica National Board, unanimously supported her. Tracy is targeted with abuse for her responsible stance, but all these people deserve a resounding "Thank You!" Internal fighting at KPFA is destructive to our station and to our culture as a whole. The KPFA listeners expect KPFA staff and our elected board representatives to learn to agree to disagree and to work things out civilly -- without resorting to character assassination, lies, and vitriol. We expect a culture of collaboration and respect where constructive work can be done, even when times are hard and hard decisions must be made.
Send a strong message to the people behind this recall effort -- Enough! Stop it!
Vote NO on the KPFA recall
Who spent 6-10 thousand dollars on one mailer for a recall before it even began?
A group called Save KPFA, not to be confused with the Save KPFA of 1993 -1999 that fought for the democratization of Pacifica so it could not be run or sold by a small self-selecting group of national board members. This group does not support a democratically run station and network.
Is the recall because KPFA is in trouble?
No. After some staff cuts, the only possible way to lower expenditures, KPFA is moving out of a million and a half dollar loss to solvency and a balanced budget. Listener support remains about the same.
Isn't Pacifica, or Arlene Engelhardt, meddling in KPFA affairs?
No. Pacifica and its Executive Director are democratically chosen by the network's 5 stations and have the task of overseeing the stations. They have preserved the network and, just last year, helped pull KPFA from near bankruptcy. In a desperate situation, the ED, Arlene Engelhardt had to make the necessary layoffs that KPFA was told to make 3 years before and didn't, as all the other 4 stations and Pacifica itself did. Normally KPFA and the other stations are independent in day-to-day operations.
Did Tracy Rosenberg participate in illegal and retaliatory layoffs?
No. She was not involved in the lay-offs. She is a local and national board member, chairperson of the Pacifica Finance Committee, and serving as a volunteer and doing her job to make sound finance and policy decisions. The layoffs themselves were done in the way mandated by the CWA union contract.
So why a recall?
It's a factional fight. What is now the SaveKPFA/KPFAworker faction have always wanted to have complete control of the station. They don't want to deal with input from community, unpaid staff and or listeners who want KPFA to be managed democratically and with more emphasis on fair community media practices.
We hope that listeners will take the time to consider the facts and decide for themselves. Those promoting the recall are relying on you seeing their names and following them without looking at the rebuttal to their accusations.
Really, just a Factional Fight?
Think about these facts you may not have heard:
* As KPFA's budget has been going up and income has been going down over the last four years, some people took voluntary layoffs, one person lost her job.
* KPFA went from a loss of over a million and a half dollars to a balanced budget.
* A popular but expensive program was replaced by a new program which cost nothing.
* Pacifica defended itself against a number of lawsuits brought by Save KPFA and its supporters that were judged to be without merit by the National Labor Relations Board, costing Pacifica and KPFA approximately $80,000 dollars.
There are decisions you might agree with or not, but they are not issues to recall a board member over, who is not individually responsible for any of these decisions. Are you, as a member of KPFA interested in delving into these controversies? Or is Save KPFA relying on you making a decision based only on their partisan positions? This recall is being done to advance the interests of one faction within the KPFA community just prior to a board election.
For more information on the particulars of the recall charges, and their rebuttals, see
Stop the KPFA Recall.org
United for Community Radio
Indybay article
Who is Tracy Rosenberg?
As Executive Director of Media Alliance, Tracy Rosenberg has built an effective protest and lobbying organization with deep connections in the non-profit and grassroots communities. She is highly regarded as an influential and devoted defender of community radio around the nation. Locally, her work with Common Frequency has helped start low power stations around the area. As the Chair of the Pacifica National Board Finance Committee, it has been an almost impossible task to work with all 5 stations to bring their expenditures in line with their incomes. She has accomplished more in this last year than had been done in the previous 4 years, when SaveKPFA and its allies were in the majority.
Still don't know how to vote? If you DON'T KNOW, VOTE NO!
These charges on the Save KPFA mailer are bogus!
-- purged KPFA's biggest fundraiser and most listened-to local program (The Morning Show), causing morning pledges to drop by more than half and putting the station's fragile finances at risk
*KPFA's financial performance improved by $500,000 in the last 12 months.
-- conducted illegal, retaliatory layoffs
*Not according to the National Labor Relations Board. It dismissed a claim that the layoffs were in violation of the union contract and found it without merit.
-- wasted more than $80,000 of listener money on an anti-union law firm
* Save KPFA filed 5 complaints at the National Labor Relations Board. All have been dismissed or withdrawn. Pacifica initiated none of these complaints or costs. Zero.
-- diverted workers' retirement contributions for other purposes
*The problem started in 2005, under a different director and CFO and years before Rosenberg served on any local or national board. Nothing to do with her whatsoever. Engelhardt and the National Board authorized a seven-year correction which is underway.
-- slapped gag rules on KPFA's staff
*Not according to the NLRB. The complaint of gag rules was dismissed and found to be without merit.
-- illegally barred KPFA's elected representatives from taking their seats on Pacifica's Board.
*Dan Siegel stated his position as a legal advisor to Jean Quan was not a political appointment although it was seen as such by the local media. Siegel then resigned from the position he argued in court he didn't have due to a political conflict of interest. Pacifica's By-laws clearly prohibit anyone with a political office from holding any office in station or Pacifica governance.
These are all trumped up charges by a partisan minority that wants to send yet ANOTHER General Manager and/or Program Director, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer packing and hasn't been able to.
For more information on the particulars of the recall charges, and their rebuttals, see
Stop the KPFA Recall.org
Indybay article
*** *** ***
*** *** ***
Updates, reports & essays about KPFA & Pacifica Foundation Radio at
UNITED FOR COMMUNITY RADIO
KPFA 94.1 FM is one of five stations of the Pacifica radio network which are located in major cities across the country. The other stations are WBAI 99.5 in New York, WPFW 89.3 in Washington DC, KPFT 90.1 in Houston, and KPFK 90.7 in Los Angeles. There are also about 160 affiliate stations.
Labels: 94.1 FM, Concerned Listeners; (CL), ICR, independents for community radio, KPFA Worker, KPFAworker.org, Pacifica Foundation, Pacifica Radio Network, Save KPFA, SaveKPFA.org
