Behind the Layoffs at KPFA Radio

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.labornotes.org/blogs/2010/11/behind-layoffs-kpfa-radio

by David Bacon | Thu, 11/18/2010 - 1:45pm

In a move eerily reminiscent of events a decade ago that kicked off the long struggle over control of the Pacifica listener-supported radio network, Pacifica Foundation executives moved to take control of its Berkeley flagship station, KPFA. Layoff notices were given to the staff of its popular drive-time program, the Morning Show, November 8, terminating them on the spot with no notice, or even the normal boilerplate language explaining eligibility for unemployment or COBRA benefits.


Pacifica Foundation Director Arlene Englehart debates longtime KPFA programmer Philip Maldari, union steward for CWA Local 9415, over the Foundation's decision to lay off all the staff of the station's Morning Show. Pacifica Foundation Financial Officer Lavarn Williams looks on. Photo: David Bacon.


The show's two co-hosts, Brian Edwards-Tiekert and Aimee Allison, lost their jobs. Assistant producer Esther Manilla, a steward for the staff union, Communications Workers Local 9415, took a voluntary layoff to save the jobs of others. Producer Laura Prives was also laid off, but when it became obvious she had more seniority than other staff still working, her layoff notice was apparently rescinded.

Two hundred listeners came out for a spirited demonstration in front of the station at midday to oppose the layoffs, as even more had done the previous week when layoffs had been threatened.

Arlene Engelhardt, executive director of the Pacifica Foundation, which holds the licenses for the five Pacifica stations (KPFA in Berkeley, WBAI in New York, KPFK in Los Angeles, WPFW in Washington, D.C., and KPFT in Houston) arrived at the station with the foundation's financial officer, LaVarn Williams, the next day. The layoff was so sudden they had no program to put in place of the Morning Show. The supposedly-terminated staff then interviewed the two, along with the union’s stewards, for the next two hours, questioning them about the layoff decision on the air.

The following day, however, Engelhardt and Williams were more prepared. They ordered the station's engineer to download the satellite feed for the Uprisings morning show from KPFK in Los Angeles, and broadcast it in place of KPFA's own program. For over a decade, KPFA’s Wednesday Morning Show has included a half-hour segment devoted to labor. When the producer (myself) and two organizers from the Longshore and Warehouse Union arrived to do the report, Engelhardt refused to put us on the air, saying that the Morning Show and its labor segment had been "preempted."

Since then, KPFA has continued to broadcast the Los Angeles program in place of its own locally-produced Morning Show. Sonali Kohatkar, host of Uprisings, stated on the air her support for the laid-off KPFA staff, interviewed Edwards-Tiekert, and even Engelhardt herself.

FULL story at link.

[Kali]

1. I've been sort of following this on another listserve

quite a mess, but seems to be a never-ending pattern with so many community stations, not just Pacifica

[Adrienne Lauby]

2. A public turf war exposes underlying issues

Only in a community radio station would employees of a non-profit be able to broadcast their opinion of their own layoffs, and interview the executive director in front of tens of thousands of people. David's article is fairly one sided. For another view, go to wwww.supportkpfa.org

Tracy Rosenberg has a fairly comprehensive response to David's article in the comments section at the original link. As an unpaid staff worker at the station for seven years, this sentence struck me as a particularly important piece.

"...what is mystifying and painful is the lack of acknowledgment of the toxic working conditions and unpleasant environment that has surrounded the place and how the local management and bargaining unit have contributed to an atmosphere of injustice and frustration: oddly enough at a famously progressive outlet...