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Why Summer Reese Is Still The Executive Director Of The Pacifica Foundation

by Policy Respect
January 30th 2014, Pacifica foundation signed a 3 year contract for Executive Director with Summer Reese. The relevant parts of that employment contract show why Summer Reese remains the Executive Director in spite of actions taken by “the board” * on March 13th.
SEE CONTRACT AFTER SEVERAL PARAGRAPHS BELOW

We call for honoring the Executive Director's contract;
No selling of any Pacifica stations and fiscal accountability.
Help resist the coup.

Berkeley - At the Pacifica National Office at 1925 Martin Luther King Jr Way, the March 13th late-night attempted firing of the executive director, Summer Reese, is being resisted by Pacifica staff members and listeners. The dismissal, which happened at a late-night telephone meeting of Pacifica board members, with no prior notification and for no stated reason, looks headed to a court room.

Executive Director Summer Reese returned to work and allowed Pacifica staff members to return to work Monday morning by removing the padlock that had been placed on the door.

The Pacifica National Board has not met since March 13th and is not scheduled to meet again until March 20th. Several incumbent directors stated they had not received any notification of nor been asked to consent to the action initiated by the board regarding the meeting of the 13th.

On the evening of Monday March 17th, a small number of coup supporters tried to force the employees out of the Pacifica office, but they left unsuccessful.

On the morning of the attempted firing, it is reported Berkeley station KPFA next door had refused to turn over its financial records for an annual audit. Many thousands of dollars in event income from the last two-dozen speaker series events, for example, have reportedly not been accounted for.

The legitimacy of the election of the Pacifica National Board officers is being contested by the minority directors for several reasons.

More at: unitedforcommunityradio.org

WHY SUMMER REESE IS STILL THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE PACIFICA FOUNDATION
On January 30th, 2014 the PACIFICA FOUNDATION signed a 3 year contract for Executive Director with Summer Reese. The relevant parts of that employment contract below show why Summer Reese remains the Executive Director in spite of the action taken by the *board on March 13th.

THE CONTRACT SAYS:

V. TERMINATION FOR CAUSE

Summer Reese shall be removable by Pacifica for cause for the duration of this employment contract and, in that event, Pacifica shall pay Reese severance pay equal to her base salary for the remaining duration of the contract up to a maximum of one year's salary, along with accrued vacation time up to the stated cap. Any termination proceedings will be subject to the Progressive Discipline policies as articulated in the Pacifica Employee Handbook.
The following constitutes cause and its grounds to terminate the employment of Reese.

(i) A willful breach of this Agreement or the willful and repeated neglect by Reese to perform duties that she is required to perform as Executive Director;
(ii) Being charged with any criminal act related to employment at Pacifica;
(iii) Conduct that violates Pacifica's established work rules in a substantial manner.

VI. SEVERANCE

In the event Pacifica removes Reese for cause after the probationary period, Pacifica shall pay Reese severance pay equal to her base salary for the remaining duration of the contract up the a maximum of one year's salary, along with accrued vacation time up to the stated cap. In the event Reese voluntarily separates from Pacifica during the duration of this contract Pacifica shall pay Reese accrued vacation time up to the stated cap. Reese may only be terminated for cause during the duration of the contract.

VII. PROBATION

The first six (6) months of employment shall be probationary, up to and including the 30th day of July 2014. During the probationary period, Reese shall be compensated as set out in this agreement. During the probationary period, Pacifica shall perform a system-wide performance evaluation of Reese's performance.

If Pacifica should terminate this agreement during the duration of the probationary period, Pacifica shall complete a performance evaluation, demonstrate cause as set out in Paragraph V of this document, and Pacifica shall compensate Reese with 6 months of severance pay equal to her base salary along with accrued vacation time up to the stated cap. A termination during the probationary period would be subject to Human Resources review before being finalized.

Pacifica acknowledges that Reese has filled the position of Interim Executive Director for the period of August 17, 2012 to January 29, 2014 for a period of 17 months, as an at-will employee of the Pacifica Foundation at a salary of $72,000 a year, with identical job duties and work schedule to the position described in this 3-year employment contract. Accordingly, no further period of at-will employment is required prior to the January 30, 2014 beginning date of this employment contract.

*The legitimacy of the election of the Pacifica National Board officers is being contested by the minority for several reasons.
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