Labor Leaders Speak Out on KPFA Elections

Dear KPFA listeners,

We are writing to you, as voters in the current elections for he local station board, because we are concerned about preserving productive, healthy relationships between the station staff and listener community, and about maintaining community-based programming.

In the debate over making our station responsive to the community, discussion has often become polarized, and various groups have been been portrayed as opposed to progressive values and a democratic process. Because of this, we would like to list a few principles we think are important to keep in mind as we vote for local board candidates, and as we try to ensure an environment at the station which will produce programming serving our community.

KPFA has a hard-working staff who deserve credit for defending the station when it was under attack, and for producing programming which our community can be proud of. This includes both paid and unpaid staff. No one works at the station because they're in love with a paycheck - the salaries even in public radio are a lot higher, and the stress level lower. People work at the station, and in the case
of unpaid programmers, put in long hours without any monetary compensation, because they're dedicated to its politics and mission.

While we may disagree with each other from time to time over what that means, each worker at KPFA deserves to be treated with respect because of that commitment. We all believe in human rights and liberation, but we have to accept the fact that we don't always agree with each other within that context. Learning to disagree with respect, and not personalizing political differences, is a key to building a healthy work environment. Our local station board should
be commited to this idea, and should put a priority on establishing good working relations with the staff.

The staff union is an important institution at KPFA, as is the unpaid staff organization. Both are part of its democratic process. People who work at the station, and depend on it for their livelihood (at least, for the relatively modest wages the station provides), have rights as workers. The union and contract exist to protect those rights. This includes the staff's right to be secure in their jobs, just like any other group of workers. Producing good programming requires a real commitment. Without the knowledge that you can continue to pay rent and support a family, that commitment is hard to make. Good jobs and a good work environment are critical to producing good programming.

The station has always been committed to trying to provide
opportunities for people to learn radio skills, and to find positions for people on staff to do that. The apprenticeship program is a critical part of this process. So is the affirmative action language in the contract between the union and the station, which is an important part in ensuring the diversity of station staff, and providing job opportunities. But KPFA will always need the work of unpaid staff, and their rights are as important as those of the paid staff. There is no inherent contradiction between respecting the rights of paid and unpaid staff. One important function of a local station board should be to help paid and unpaid staff to work together and support each other.

Finally, we believe that KPFA needs to remain committed to
programming which serves the needs of our local community. A local station board should be the guardian of locally-based programming. We need programming which arises from the political and social movements in our own community. This programming should give a voice to the organizations in our community, and take a broad approach in reaching out. For example, progressive churches in East Oakland, community service organizations in the Chinatowns on both sides of the bay, day labor and immigrant rights organizations, and unions and workers challenging corporate power, all need our station to be their voice. A local board should have some idea of who these and other important organizations in our community are, and a plan for reaching out to them.

Local programming should speak to the burning questions people deal with on a daily basis. Our community has a rich culture, and programming needs to reflect this too. For that reason, we're opposed to moving the Morning Show, which is an important vehicle for covering activity in our own community - political, social and cultural. As labor activists, we're particularly concerned that the labor coverage on the Morning Show continue to be aired at its current time, which is the time most accessible to working-class listeners. We support making additional programming slots available to new programmers, whether in the hour beforehand, from 6 to 7 AM, or at other times during the day. The process for finding those slots is always difficult, since there are only so many hours, and the rights and needs of existing programs need to be respected.

Democracy Now is a popular and important program, but expanding or moving its broadcast times shouldn't be done at the expense of local programming. While national programming is important, we are a community station first and foremost.

We appreciate the time you've taken in considering these ideas, and hope you'll keep them in mind as you vote for local board candidates.

We're also happy to hear that Roy Campanella has become the station's new manager, and look forward to working with him.

The following is a list of candidates who we feel support the ideas we've enumerated above. More information about their program can be found on their website: http://www.kpfaforward.org

Tom Blanks
Sherry Gendelman
Annie Hallatt
Mark Hernandez
Yasuo Monno
Rosalinda Palacios
Willie Thompson

In order to be counted, ballots need to be mailed back by December 4th. If you are a subscriber, or are otherwise eligible to vote in this election, and you haven't received a ballot, call 510-849-2590 x205 or 1-877-217-6928 x205.

In solidarity,

Bill Harvey, secretary-treasurer, CWA 9415
Art Pulaski, executive secretary, California Labor Federation
Judy Goff, executive secretary, Alameda County Central Labor Council
Katie Quan, UC Center for Labor Research and Education
Peter Olney, organizing director, ILWU
David Bacon, labor journalist, N. CA Media Workers Guild
Warren Mar, interim chair, Labor Studies, CCSF
Susan McDonough, field representative, SEIU, Local 790
Frank Martin del Campo, field representative, SEIU Local 790
Michael Eisenscher, AFT Local 1603

All organizations are listed for identification purposes only.