KPFA Responds to Nadra Foster Incident

Dear KPFA Family,

We face war abroad, abuse of civil liberties at home, global planetary collapse and an election that will chart the future of the most powerful empire in the history of the world. The need for a strong KPFA voice is clear. A strong KPFA requires a process of dialogue and conflict resolution. We are committed to that goal and want to share our plan with you for dealing with the August 20th police incident.

As we reported earlier, KPFA is not pressing any charges, but the Alameda County District Attorney is. We've requested that the DA's prosecutor drop those charges. In response to requests that came up at our staff meeting on August 26th, we also contacted the offices of Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson to ask that they make the same request.

That leaves KPFA facing the question of how we can avoid a similar situation in the future. At our staff meeting, people raised concerns about the circumstances under
which police could be called to KPFA. People also asked about the process for deciding who may not have access to the building and people wanted to know how KPFA will ensure the safety and security of staff and guests.

On the question of the police, some staff have asked that KPFA institute a policy that the police never get called into the station. That's something we can't do. KPFA cannot tell its staff that they have no right to call the police if they feel threatened. We don't have private security, and don't want it. And we absolutely under no circumstances want our own staff to endanger themselves in confronting a dangerous person or situation.

Here's what many of you asked for that we CAN do: 1) try to create more tools for de-escalating conflicts before they get to a place that prompts a call to the police; 2) clarify our policies and procedures for the disciplining of staff members and for dealing with non-staff who become a problem; 3) set up procedures for monitoring the police if and when they're in the station; 4) try to clean up KPFA's administrative systems so that we have a better idea of who has access to the building, and why—so that there's less of a chance of KPFA getting into a situation where it's trying to remove someone who shouldn't have gained admittance to the building.

Here's what we ARE doing: First, we've allocated money for a professional facilitator to work with us as a station to process what we've been through, promote healing, and guide us through a collaborative process of evaluating how we treat each other, and how our policies and procedures match up to our ideals. We're talking to a couple people now, and hope to have someone shortly. Second, we're working over our existing policies and procedures and looking for things that need to be clarified.

Finally, we sent out several emails announcing a switch to a key system at KPFA. This is something we need to do for many reasons. First, because under the current system there is the potential for unknown people to enter the building with someone else's code – and that's a liability. Second, because we need a solid list of who works here, what they do, and some basic information—like whom to call if you have a medical emergency while you're at the station. Finally, we need to update and re-distribute our staff policies and procedures. Our plan is that when everyone comes in for their key, they'll sign for an updated copy of KPFA policies and procedures.

We sent out a memo announcing the new key system in the absence of any other information. A lot of you pointed out problems with the timeline for phasing in the keys, and raised good questions about how we're going to use them. As a result, we're pushing back the phase-in of the key system until we can address those concerns and make sure everyone who needs access to the building is going to be able to get in.

A lot of you have also raised concerns about going into fund-drive next week.

Our dedicated off-air staff have already scheduled their phone room volunteers and temporary assistants and Pacifica's financial distress has made KPFA's situation so precarious that if we postpone the drive any further, we will have trouble making payroll. As many of you know, it's really hard to push back a fund drive that's already been set in motion. But, if we aren't all on the same page, it's hard to have a successful fund drive. So we're pushing the fall drive back, to start on Thursday, September 18th—so we have time to address more concerns before we go into fundraising.

On a final note, it's really important to remember that KPFA, and the Pacifica mission, are bigger than any of us, and our conflicts. We do fund drives because we need money to keep operating a station that tens of thousands of people rely on as an antidote to the corporate media. We need that money to pay for everything from the electricity running through our transmitter to the health benefits for KPFA's dedicated employees. Given the Pacifica Network's current financial condition, if we don't raise the money we need soon, KPFA could have to close its doors.

Over the coming weeks, we're looking forward to more dialogue about moving KPFA forward. And we're hoping to tap the collective wisdom of KPFA's staff for creative solutions. We're hoping to heal some of the rifts that have opened over this incident, but we can only do that if everyone's willing to live up to KPFA's founding vision—that there would be space where people of diverse views and backgrounds could have civil dialogue across difference and where conflicts could be explored in the service of a lasting understanding between individuals.

In peace,

Lemlem Rijio, Interim General Manager
Sasha Lilley, Interim Program Director
Amelia Gonzalez, Arts, Humanities, and Public Affairs Director
Aileen Alfandary, News Co-Director
Mark Mericle, News Co-Director
Luis Medina, Music Director