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The Questions That KPFA Manager Rijio Can't Answer & Concerned Listeners Do Damage Control
The supporters of KPFA Concerned Listeners on the KPFA Local Station Board prevented the listeners and public from knowing some basic questions about what management policies are at KPFA and who is being paid and how much to produce a new employee handbook. Apparently these questions are so difficult that Lemlem Rijio's supporters on the board needed to vote the resolution down. These are the same people who complain about the financial crisis but then refuse to expose where money is being spent and why KFPA continues to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuits and lawyers defending KPFA.
These are from the posted minutes of the KFPA Local Station Board from last September 2008. Apparently the Local Station Secretary Susan McDonough can't do her job and post the minutes in a timely manner. This was the last posting of minutes of the Local Station Board. So much for transparency. This is either incompetence or malfeasance of the Concerned Listener's supporter on the board.
http://lsb.kpfa.org/files/sept%20final%20minutes.pdf
To: KPFA LSB
Fr: Susan McDonough
Re: Draft #1 Minutes from September 13, 2008 LSB & Delegates’ Meeting
Held at Café de la Paz, Berkeley, 11am-3:30pm
Dt: September 30, 2008
Item #13: Motion re: HR Practices (NH)
Motion made and seconded: Be it resolved that: The LSB requests that the interim General Manager Lemlem
Rijio to provide the answers to the following questions:
1) How long have you been IGM?
2) When did you assign to someone else or personally begin reworking the Employee Handbook?
3) Is the new employee Personnel handbook finished?
4) What is the status of this personnel handbook?
5) If it has not been finished and distributed to the staff when will it be done?
6) Is there a Personnel Handbook that is being used at the station, ie does the Business Manager or any
management employee provide such a handbook to an employee when they are hired or when they ask for one?
7) If there is one, has it been distributed to all employees?
8) Is there a record that employees have received it?
9) Are there written policies for reporting discrimination and retaliation complaints in place at the station? And if
so how are they made available to employees?
10) Have any sexual harassment trainings taken place KPFA? If so how many, and which staff were invited, and
which attended?
11) When was the Human Resources Consultant Hired?
12) What was the hiring process for this consultant?
13) What are the Human Resource Consultant's job duties?
14) How much is the Human Resource Consultant paid?
15) What if any Human Resources job duties do you as IGM retain?
16) Have any performance evaluations been done of any employee during your time as IGM? If so, is there a
schedule for the conducting of annual performance evaluations of all employees? If there is such a schedule, will
it be completed annually?
17) When you are aware of a grievance of discrimination or retaliation as IGM, what steps do you take, what are
your policies to ensure that it is handled properly according to state and federal law? Please let me know
what protocols that you rely on for your responses.
18) Are there any policies in place at the workplace regarding workplace violence, and if so, what are they? and
how and when are they provided to employees.
Vote: Yes 9, No 9. Motion fails.
Substitute motion made by BET and seconded: The KPFA LSB requests KPFA management provide
the LSB all existing personnel policy and procedure documents, along with an account of which ones
are being revised or created, and the process, and timeline for doing so. The LSB further requests KPFA
management make itself available to discuss those policies at the next meeting of the LSB.
First vote: call for vote on substitute motion: Yes 12, No 0, Abs 7
Vote on substitute motion: Yes: 12, No: 0, Abst: 7. Motion carries. Roll call vote:
Yes: Bonnie, Brian, Dianne, Tico, Rych, Sarv, Sherry, Susan, Warren
Abst: Aki, Anthony, Chandra, Henry, Joe, Noelle, Sasha, Shahram, Tracy
Motion made and seconded that the record show that Noelle Hanrahan of the LSB accused Brian
Edwards Tiekert of obfuscation after she was called to order. She then asked if it was too big a word.
Item #14: Motion re: CAB (TR)
Motion made and seconded to move this item to the October agenda. No objections.
Item #15: Motion re: GM Review (TR)
It is resolved that the KPFA LSB begin the mandated annual evaluation of the KPFA Interim General
Manager and Interim Program Director for 2008. Seconded. No objections.
Public Meeting Adjourned at 2:50pm
Time Certain 3pm: Executive Session
Final September 08 LSB minutes
http://lsb.kpfa.org/files/sept%20final%20minutes.pdf
To: KPFA LSB
Fr: Susan McDonough
Re: Draft #1 Minutes from September 13, 2008 LSB & Delegates’ Meeting
Held at Café de la Paz, Berkeley, 11am-3:30pm
Dt: September 30, 2008
Item #13: Motion re: HR Practices (NH)
Motion made and seconded: Be it resolved that: The LSB requests that the interim General Manager Lemlem
Rijio to provide the answers to the following questions:
1) How long have you been IGM?
2) When did you assign to someone else or personally begin reworking the Employee Handbook?
3) Is the new employee Personnel handbook finished?
4) What is the status of this personnel handbook?
5) If it has not been finished and distributed to the staff when will it be done?
6) Is there a Personnel Handbook that is being used at the station, ie does the Business Manager or any
management employee provide such a handbook to an employee when they are hired or when they ask for one?
7) If there is one, has it been distributed to all employees?
8) Is there a record that employees have received it?
9) Are there written policies for reporting discrimination and retaliation complaints in place at the station? And if
so how are they made available to employees?
10) Have any sexual harassment trainings taken place KPFA? If so how many, and which staff were invited, and
which attended?
11) When was the Human Resources Consultant Hired?
12) What was the hiring process for this consultant?
13) What are the Human Resource Consultant's job duties?
14) How much is the Human Resource Consultant paid?
15) What if any Human Resources job duties do you as IGM retain?
16) Have any performance evaluations been done of any employee during your time as IGM? If so, is there a
schedule for the conducting of annual performance evaluations of all employees? If there is such a schedule, will
it be completed annually?
17) When you are aware of a grievance of discrimination or retaliation as IGM, what steps do you take, what are
your policies to ensure that it is handled properly according to state and federal law? Please let me know
what protocols that you rely on for your responses.
18) Are there any policies in place at the workplace regarding workplace violence, and if so, what are they? and
how and when are they provided to employees.
Vote: Yes 9, No 9. Motion fails.
Substitute motion made by BET and seconded: The KPFA LSB requests KPFA management provide
the LSB all existing personnel policy and procedure documents, along with an account of which ones
are being revised or created, and the process, and timeline for doing so. The LSB further requests KPFA
management make itself available to discuss those policies at the next meeting of the LSB.
First vote: call for vote on substitute motion: Yes 12, No 0, Abs 7
Vote on substitute motion: Yes: 12, No: 0, Abst: 7. Motion carries. Roll call vote:
Yes: Bonnie, Brian, Dianne, Tico, Rych, Sarv, Sherry, Susan, Warren
Abst: Aki, Anthony, Chandra, Henry, Joe, Noelle, Sasha, Shahram, Tracy
Motion made and seconded that the record show that Noelle Hanrahan of the LSB accused Brian
Edwards Tiekert of obfuscation after she was called to order. She then asked if it was too big a word.
Item #14: Motion re: CAB (TR)
Motion made and seconded to move this item to the October agenda. No objections.
Item #15: Motion re: GM Review (TR)
It is resolved that the KPFA LSB begin the mandated annual evaluation of the KPFA Interim General
Manager and Interim Program Director for 2008. Seconded. No objections.
Public Meeting Adjourned at 2:50pm
Time Certain 3pm: Executive Session
Final September 08 LSB minutes
For more information:
http://lsb.kpfa.org/files/sept%20final%20m...
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
- Should not any Policies implemented by management be first approved by the board?
- Does the said 'personnel handbook' apply only to paid staff, or would include unpaid staff & volunteers?
- Could the piggybank of funds from used by the iGM for a local consultant be used instead for turnaround?
- Does the said 'personnel handbook' apply only to paid staff, or would include unpaid staff & volunteers?
- Could the piggybank of funds from used by the iGM for a local consultant be used instead for turnaround?
Vote: Yes 9, No 9. Motion fails.
Substitute motion made by BET and seconded: .....First vote: call for vote on substitute motion: Yes 12, No 0, Abs 7
Vote on substitute motion: Yes: 12, No: 0, Abst: 7. Motion carries. Roll call vote:
Yes: Bonnie, Brian, Dianne, Tico, Rych, Sarv, Sherry, Susan, Warren
Abst: Aki, Anthony, Chandra, Henry, Joe, Noelle, Sasha, Shahram, Tracy
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It appears that you have the Roll call vote for the 9-9 initial motion that failed. It also appears that if all the Listener Democracy LSB reps had attended and voted the first motion would have passed. It is nice to see that Noelle finally decided to attend an LSB meeting. The overall attendance for your group should be embarrassing to you. What kind of reps are you? Part-time? How many times have you lost a vote because some of your folks have been absent, when the majority didn't all show up? How about publishing each of your attendance records? Let's see if you are really representing the listeners and the ex-subscribers that you need to get back like me. Or is it just a status position for your "progressive" resume? And since an abstention has the same result as a no vote why not have some courage and vote no when you disagree?
Absense without a good reason shows serious disrespect for the people that elected you. Did any of you run on a "I will only show up to some of the meetings" platform?
Substitute motion made by BET and seconded: .....First vote: call for vote on substitute motion: Yes 12, No 0, Abs 7
Vote on substitute motion: Yes: 12, No: 0, Abst: 7. Motion carries. Roll call vote:
Yes: Bonnie, Brian, Dianne, Tico, Rych, Sarv, Sherry, Susan, Warren
Abst: Aki, Anthony, Chandra, Henry, Joe, Noelle, Sasha, Shahram, Tracy
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It appears that you have the Roll call vote for the 9-9 initial motion that failed. It also appears that if all the Listener Democracy LSB reps had attended and voted the first motion would have passed. It is nice to see that Noelle finally decided to attend an LSB meeting. The overall attendance for your group should be embarrassing to you. What kind of reps are you? Part-time? How many times have you lost a vote because some of your folks have been absent, when the majority didn't all show up? How about publishing each of your attendance records? Let's see if you are really representing the listeners and the ex-subscribers that you need to get back like me. Or is it just a status position for your "progressive" resume? And since an abstention has the same result as a no vote why not have some courage and vote no when you disagree?
Absense without a good reason shows serious disrespect for the people that elected you. Did any of you run on a "I will only show up to some of the meetings" platform?
How many FTE's does Flashpoints have, and what is its total budget?
If you are demanding to know the cost of producing a much-needed handbook in order to see if it should be spent elsewhere, you should also demand to know how much money is spent on Flashpoints, its host, producers, staff and production budget. I am especially interested in why it seems that Flashpoints biggest "fans" are also the ones saying paid staff should be fired and KPFA operated by all volunteers. I suspect your favorite host and his staff don't agree but don't publicly say so.
And since a big chunk of lawsuit money was the result of an incident triggered by the show's host, and since the show's host thinks Pacifica should be paying HIS legal expenses because it was too afraid of his sycophants to do anything about the "alleged" harassment of Ms. Hanrahan...well, you get the idea. I'd like to see what's under that Flashpoints rock.
As for the Rijio Inquisition: The board doesn't need to be wasting precious time on motions forcing Ms. Rijio to answer an inquisition that could easily be found if these incorrectly described "listener democracy" board members got off their lazy butts and looked in the minutes. Good for the motion failing. No wonder KPFA and Pacifica are going broke, while the Great Activists and Friends of Dennis fiddle.
If you are demanding to know the cost of producing a much-needed handbook in order to see if it should be spent elsewhere, you should also demand to know how much money is spent on Flashpoints, its host, producers, staff and production budget. I am especially interested in why it seems that Flashpoints biggest "fans" are also the ones saying paid staff should be fired and KPFA operated by all volunteers. I suspect your favorite host and his staff don't agree but don't publicly say so.
And since a big chunk of lawsuit money was the result of an incident triggered by the show's host, and since the show's host thinks Pacifica should be paying HIS legal expenses because it was too afraid of his sycophants to do anything about the "alleged" harassment of Ms. Hanrahan...well, you get the idea. I'd like to see what's under that Flashpoints rock.
As for the Rijio Inquisition: The board doesn't need to be wasting precious time on motions forcing Ms. Rijio to answer an inquisition that could easily be found if these incorrectly described "listener democracy" board members got off their lazy butts and looked in the minutes. Good for the motion failing. No wonder KPFA and Pacifica are going broke, while the Great Activists and Friends of Dennis fiddle.
It is not surprising that when someone asks a question about the management policies and the resources that KPFA has expended by Manager Rijio on a employee guide some of the entrenched hacks and sycophants need to divert the issue. This question was not about the programmers but about who is running KPFA and how are they running it. The fact that the Local Station Board could not get simple questions answered by Rijio and instead her band of "Concerned Listener" lapdogs help do damage control is not something new. It is becoming increasingly exposed as the deepening financial crisis and loss of listeners drives the station and network into greater crisis.
These same "concerned listeners" have expanded the full time staff at KPFA to over 42 while whining about a financial crisis. The management controlled union at KPFA instead of fighting for the workers is the bucket brigade for the entrenched full timers who really control Rijio.
This so called union was silent when the police were called to arrest and beat KPFA unpaid staff programmer Nadra Foster. When "labor" programmers like David Bacon and Max Pringle back these management police tactics it speaks volumes about their idea of "union solidarity".
This is leading to a major crisis. The list of incompetent managers and hangers on most of whom were supported by the management team have perpetuated a constant state of chaos and disfunction backed up by the "concerned listeners" bunch. They have no solutions but their main goal is to keep on the gravy train at KPFA and bleed the station dry.
These same "concerned listeners" have expanded the full time staff at KPFA to over 42 while whining about a financial crisis. The management controlled union at KPFA instead of fighting for the workers is the bucket brigade for the entrenched full timers who really control Rijio.
This so called union was silent when the police were called to arrest and beat KPFA unpaid staff programmer Nadra Foster. When "labor" programmers like David Bacon and Max Pringle back these management police tactics it speaks volumes about their idea of "union solidarity".
This is leading to a major crisis. The list of incompetent managers and hangers on most of whom were supported by the management team have perpetuated a constant state of chaos and disfunction backed up by the "concerned listeners" bunch. They have no solutions but their main goal is to keep on the gravy train at KPFA and bleed the station dry.
An anonymous commentator wrote: "I am especially interested in why it seems that Flashpoints biggest "fans" are also the ones saying paid staff should be fired and KPFA operated by all volunteers. I suspect your favorite host and his staff don't agree but don't publicly say so."
In fact, Dennis Bernstein has said in public -- I have it on videotape -- that he thinks EVERYBODY at KPFA should be paid! He said it at a forum a few years ago in response to my argument to the effect that KPFA should be moving away from dependence on paid staff, since much of the best programming is done by volunteers anyway.
I actually believe that volunteer programmers, board ops, etc., should get a small allowance to cover expenses like travel and, perhaps, a meal. I don't know how many paid staff KPFA actually needs, but it used to get along with a lot fewer and the programming was better. (I'm talking especially about pre-1995.)
In fact, Dennis Bernstein has said in public -- I have it on videotape -- that he thinks EVERYBODY at KPFA should be paid! He said it at a forum a few years ago in response to my argument to the effect that KPFA should be moving away from dependence on paid staff, since much of the best programming is done by volunteers anyway.
I actually believe that volunteer programmers, board ops, etc., should get a small allowance to cover expenses like travel and, perhaps, a meal. I don't know how many paid staff KPFA actually needs, but it used to get along with a lot fewer and the programming was better. (I'm talking especially about pre-1995.)
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