Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Injunction Hearing Set in WBAI Election Suit
A court injunction was requested as part of a suit brought by a group of listeners, staff and local station board candidates challenging the integrity of the election process which has been stopped and rescheduled numerous times since last summer. Among the listed plaintiffs is someone who has already been in the news in the past week - civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart, a local station board candidate heading the Justice and Unity ticket.
After a hearing at 111 Center Street in Manhattan today, on an Order to Show Cause seeking a proposed temporary restraining order, we spoke with noted civil rights attorney Roger Wareham, who argued on behalf of the plaintiffs. Video of that interview is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqPEFYFFC8o
Also in attendance were members and supporters of the current management, including interim station manager LaVarn Williams, station board chair Mitchel Cohen, station board members Steve Brown and Carolyn Birden and WBAI host Ibrahim Gonzalez, as well as attorney Thomas Hillgardner, who represented Cohen, Brown and Birden, among others, in a suit challenging the 2007 station board elections.
When asked to comment for this report, Cohen and Hillgardner declined.
The suit's 83 page, 146 paragraph Complaint references the on-going problems with the local station board elections under current management, including the failure to send ballots to thousands of eligible voters and the sending of ballots to thousands more who are not eligible to vote. It also accuses the current management of using the airwaves to propagandize in support of the campaigns of members and allies of the current board majority, and of denying access to their opponents and other critics of the current interim management of WBAI and Pacifica.
The suit seeks a new election after the appointment of an independent monitor of the election, independent verification of the voter rolls, independent verification that all eligible voters receive a ballot, and independent verification that all ballots received come from eligible voters.
The injunction, returnable on December 7, would hold the current election process in abeyance until the court rules on the underlying case.
Also in attendance were members and supporters of the current management, including interim station manager LaVarn Williams, station board chair Mitchel Cohen, station board members Steve Brown and Carolyn Birden and WBAI host Ibrahim Gonzalez, as well as attorney Thomas Hillgardner, who represented Cohen, Brown and Birden, among others, in a suit challenging the 2007 station board elections.
When asked to comment for this report, Cohen and Hillgardner declined.
The suit's 83 page, 146 paragraph Complaint references the on-going problems with the local station board elections under current management, including the failure to send ballots to thousands of eligible voters and the sending of ballots to thousands more who are not eligible to vote. It also accuses the current management of using the airwaves to propagandize in support of the campaigns of members and allies of the current board majority, and of denying access to their opponents and other critics of the current interim management of WBAI and Pacifica.
The suit seeks a new election after the appointment of an independent monitor of the election, independent verification of the voter rolls, independent verification that all eligible voters receive a ballot, and independent verification that all ballots received come from eligible voters.
The injunction, returnable on December 7, would hold the current election process in abeyance until the court rules on the underlying case.
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
Mr. DeBar some how forgets to mention that the Plaintiffs' request for a TRO was denied by the Judge. There is one word to describe the motivation for this frivolous law suit. DESPERATION! If they can't run Pacifica they will destroy it and this type of law suit is one of their methods.
If you bothered to watch the interview video with Roger Wareham, he discusses the TRO and the meaning of setting a hearing on the injunction for 12/7, three days before the election closes.
The complaint was more than 80 pages of facts documenting violations of Pacifica's by-laws and union contracts. That the judge chose to wait before acting was not surprising, and the underlying case was not prejudiced at all by his doing so.
The complaint was more than 80 pages of facts documenting violations of Pacifica's by-laws and union contracts. That the judge chose to wait before acting was not surprising, and the underlying case was not prejudiced at all by his doing so.
For more information:
http://www.wbixradio.org
Mr. DeBar, you did just what the corporate media does! You put what you want up front and put the rest somewhere else. You and I both know that many people will only read the headlines and few will go to the video. Your report was just as disingenuous as the law suit. Just like most of what Justice and Unity does the truth is not your guide. You had control of the LSB and the PNB for years and what was the result! Enough red ink to fill the Red Sea. No accounability, no transparency
(actually fought against Director's Inspections for years and thousands of dollars of legal fees trying to find a lawyer who would support your groups anti-inspection desires) and bylaws violations ad infinitum.
_________________________________________
THE PACIFICA FINANCIAL CRISIS!
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
Former WBAI management did not pay their rent for four months and received a Three Day Notice to pay or be subject to eviction in March of 2009. This was not promptly communicated to the financial or executive management of Pacifica. WBAI has been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for several years and currently owes Pacifica over $1,100,000.00 in back central services contributions. Each station contributes 20% of its listener-generated revenue to run the Foundation. When one station isn’t making its contribution the results are that the Foundation is short on money or the other stations have to pay more. This several year problem at WBAI and the current economic downturn has caused serious financial problems for Pacifica. The current Pacifica National Board (PNB), elected in January, gives hope for the survival of Pacifica.
Why didn’t Pacifica correct this problem early on? There was collusion among some PNB members from various stations to allow WBAI to do what they wanted to do with no oversight or accountability to the Bylaws or the listener/subscribers. The major players in this collusion were from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW, with a vote or two from KPFK and KPFT and the affiliate Reps on the PNB of past years.
The Local Station Board (LSB) majorities at KPFA and WBAI generally elected three PNB members that supported this collusion and WPFW, until recently, often sent four. There are 22 members of the PNB, four from each station and two Affiliate Representatives. An LSB majority can elect three of the four PNB members for their station. With ten votes from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW it only takes three votes from the ten from the other two stations and affiliate reps to have a majority to control the PNB and continue this collusion. Until this last January the Colluders had the majority for several years.
Who are the Colluders and why did they do this? Local tyrannical majorities wanted to run their stations without regard to the Bylaws and with no oversight from the Foundation. At KPFA the “KPFAForward” (2004) and “Concerned Listener” (CL) (2006 & 2007) slates represented the same management/staff faction and generally endorsed majorities that sent three PNB members who consistently voted to protect and continue the collusion. This group included William Walker, Sarv Randhawa, Rosalinda Palacios, Mary Berg, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons and Andrea Turner. They consistently vote/voted with the Justice & Unity majority from WBAI and the WPFW majority. They generally sit together at the PNB meetings and are regularly seen privately caucusing together at lunch and before and after meetings, sometimes with GM Lemlem Rijio when in Berkeley.
Prior to this year’s PNB, Bob Lederer was the Justice & Unity leader on the PNB. I have attended many PNB meetings and listened to most of the others on line. During those meetings if KPFA Colluder PNB members were not sure how to vote they often passed if Bob Lederer hadn’t voted or passed. When he voted they would follow. If you don’t believe me go to the archives of the meetings and listen.
Whenever there was a move to correct the problems at WBAI the KPFA Colluders always voted with the others to protect the LSB majority at WBAI. Patty Heffley, the minority PNB Rep from WBAI, made a motion to have the PNB order the WBAI LSB to do a performance review of the general manager (GM) and the program director. The Bylaws require these to be done annually. At WBAI they had never been done, despite complaints from the LSB minority. The PNB Colluder majority refused to order the WBAI LSB to follow the Bylaws. Many others complained about WBAI being out of control and losing money and the Colluder PNB majority did NOTHING as the red ink continued to flow.
At KPFA the CL slate and the Rijio/Lilley management work together to make sure they maintain a majority on the LSB to elect three PNB members from their group. One of their methods was to have no election information on the air when the ballots went out and at the same time the CL sent a slate mailer. After the first time this happened I wrote a motion on the PNB Election Committee requiring election information to be on the air during the election. It passed out of the election committee by a 10-2 vote. The Colluder majority on the PNB voted it down. When KPFA finally ran some candidate information they ran 22 candidate statements in a row, always with Sherry Gendelman first! At the April 2009 PNB meeting in Berkeley the new non-Colluder PNB majority passed a motion requiring broad election coverage on the air. Bonnie Simmons, CL endorser and Justice and Unity voting ally, made a motion to rescind the required election coverage. It didn’t pass. And we will had a more inclusive election this year. No thanks to CL and its Justice and Unity allies.
The Colluder majority was consistently against transparency. The Bylaws and California law allow Directors the “absolute right” to inspect all documents and facilities at any reasonable time. For years the Colluders fought to stop or hinder Directors’ Inspections. When inspections were finally allowed due to potential lawsuits it was discovered that $65,000 worth of equipment had been sent to a WBAI former GM’s father’s house and was not accounted for. As recently as 2008 a Director was ordered out of WBAI in the middle of a lawful inspection without any justification. Who gave the order? Dan Siegel, interim Executive Director, hired by the Colluder majority and a recent CL candidate.
So when you hear Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons, Conn or Matthew Hallinan, Warren Mar or any of the CL allies complain about KPFA money going to shore up WBAI, they and their allies are responsible for this crisis for trading fiscal responsibility for their power to ignore the Bylaws, transparency and accountability.
KPFA/Pacifica is a Commons that belongs to all of us, and it must be protected and preserved above the Justice and Unity, CL/Rijio group’s desire for unrestrained and unaccountable power.
Richard Phelps, former Chair, KPFA LSB
_________________________________________
And now your groups practice reminds me of the US policy in Viet Nam, "we had to destroy that village (radio network) to save it!"
(actually fought against Director's Inspections for years and thousands of dollars of legal fees trying to find a lawyer who would support your groups anti-inspection desires) and bylaws violations ad infinitum.
_________________________________________
THE PACIFICA FINANCIAL CRISIS!
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
Former WBAI management did not pay their rent for four months and received a Three Day Notice to pay or be subject to eviction in March of 2009. This was not promptly communicated to the financial or executive management of Pacifica. WBAI has been losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for several years and currently owes Pacifica over $1,100,000.00 in back central services contributions. Each station contributes 20% of its listener-generated revenue to run the Foundation. When one station isn’t making its contribution the results are that the Foundation is short on money or the other stations have to pay more. This several year problem at WBAI and the current economic downturn has caused serious financial problems for Pacifica. The current Pacifica National Board (PNB), elected in January, gives hope for the survival of Pacifica.
Why didn’t Pacifica correct this problem early on? There was collusion among some PNB members from various stations to allow WBAI to do what they wanted to do with no oversight or accountability to the Bylaws or the listener/subscribers. The major players in this collusion were from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW, with a vote or two from KPFK and KPFT and the affiliate Reps on the PNB of past years.
The Local Station Board (LSB) majorities at KPFA and WBAI generally elected three PNB members that supported this collusion and WPFW, until recently, often sent four. There are 22 members of the PNB, four from each station and two Affiliate Representatives. An LSB majority can elect three of the four PNB members for their station. With ten votes from KPFA, WBAI and WPFW it only takes three votes from the ten from the other two stations and affiliate reps to have a majority to control the PNB and continue this collusion. Until this last January the Colluders had the majority for several years.
Who are the Colluders and why did they do this? Local tyrannical majorities wanted to run their stations without regard to the Bylaws and with no oversight from the Foundation. At KPFA the “KPFAForward” (2004) and “Concerned Listener” (CL) (2006 & 2007) slates represented the same management/staff faction and generally endorsed majorities that sent three PNB members who consistently voted to protect and continue the collusion. This group included William Walker, Sarv Randhawa, Rosalinda Palacios, Mary Berg, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons and Andrea Turner. They consistently vote/voted with the Justice & Unity majority from WBAI and the WPFW majority. They generally sit together at the PNB meetings and are regularly seen privately caucusing together at lunch and before and after meetings, sometimes with GM Lemlem Rijio when in Berkeley.
Prior to this year’s PNB, Bob Lederer was the Justice & Unity leader on the PNB. I have attended many PNB meetings and listened to most of the others on line. During those meetings if KPFA Colluder PNB members were not sure how to vote they often passed if Bob Lederer hadn’t voted or passed. When he voted they would follow. If you don’t believe me go to the archives of the meetings and listen.
Whenever there was a move to correct the problems at WBAI the KPFA Colluders always voted with the others to protect the LSB majority at WBAI. Patty Heffley, the minority PNB Rep from WBAI, made a motion to have the PNB order the WBAI LSB to do a performance review of the general manager (GM) and the program director. The Bylaws require these to be done annually. At WBAI they had never been done, despite complaints from the LSB minority. The PNB Colluder majority refused to order the WBAI LSB to follow the Bylaws. Many others complained about WBAI being out of control and losing money and the Colluder PNB majority did NOTHING as the red ink continued to flow.
At KPFA the CL slate and the Rijio/Lilley management work together to make sure they maintain a majority on the LSB to elect three PNB members from their group. One of their methods was to have no election information on the air when the ballots went out and at the same time the CL sent a slate mailer. After the first time this happened I wrote a motion on the PNB Election Committee requiring election information to be on the air during the election. It passed out of the election committee by a 10-2 vote. The Colluder majority on the PNB voted it down. When KPFA finally ran some candidate information they ran 22 candidate statements in a row, always with Sherry Gendelman first! At the April 2009 PNB meeting in Berkeley the new non-Colluder PNB majority passed a motion requiring broad election coverage on the air. Bonnie Simmons, CL endorser and Justice and Unity voting ally, made a motion to rescind the required election coverage. It didn’t pass. And we will had a more inclusive election this year. No thanks to CL and its Justice and Unity allies.
The Colluder majority was consistently against transparency. The Bylaws and California law allow Directors the “absolute right” to inspect all documents and facilities at any reasonable time. For years the Colluders fought to stop or hinder Directors’ Inspections. When inspections were finally allowed due to potential lawsuits it was discovered that $65,000 worth of equipment had been sent to a WBAI former GM’s father’s house and was not accounted for. As recently as 2008 a Director was ordered out of WBAI in the middle of a lawful inspection without any justification. Who gave the order? Dan Siegel, interim Executive Director, hired by the Colluder majority and a recent CL candidate.
So when you hear Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Sherry Gendelman, Bonnie Simmons, Conn or Matthew Hallinan, Warren Mar or any of the CL allies complain about KPFA money going to shore up WBAI, they and their allies are responsible for this crisis for trading fiscal responsibility for their power to ignore the Bylaws, transparency and accountability.
KPFA/Pacifica is a Commons that belongs to all of us, and it must be protected and preserved above the Justice and Unity, CL/Rijio group’s desire for unrestrained and unaccountable power.
Richard Phelps, former Chair, KPFA LSB
_________________________________________
And now your groups practice reminds me of the US policy in Viet Nam, "we had to destroy that village (radio network) to save it!"
Your ally Mitchel Cohen - chair of the WBAI LSB - and the lawyer who represented his group when they sued over the 2007 election (wasn't THAT done to destroy the network if they couldn't own it?) both refused to comment when I asked them as they left the courthouse. It seems that it's easier to snipe after the fact than to engage in actual discussion/debate - after all, this is the same group that imposed a gag rule on Pacifica producers and terminated people for violating it.
For more information:
http://www.wbixradio.org
It is often best to not comment while litigation is pending. How come you have NO comment on the several years of Justice and Unity in control of WBAI and all that red ink and tyranny of the majority?
...which has to do with the incompetence of, and violations of by-laws by, management in the conduct of the election and in its dealing with staff at WBAI.
As to the claims that WBAI was about to go under, that J&U drove it to bankruptcy, etc., etc., all of that is a load of nonsense. The station is buried under a lease with Silverstein (yes, the same guy who ran the World Trade Center) and the expense of that as against a reasonable rent or purchse cost has saddled the station for 12 years. That lease was imposed by Pat Scott and the last group of coupsters. I offered to solve the problem in April - at a finance committee meeting with GRace Aaron, and again at the Berkeley PNB - and again in July at the PNB in NYC. But there were no takers among the current coupsters. Clearly, the enabling reason for the takeover by Pacifica and their compradores in NY would evaporate with the expense of that lease, and so there has been no movement in that direction.
As to the claims that WBAI was about to go under, that J&U drove it to bankruptcy, etc., etc., all of that is a load of nonsense. The station is buried under a lease with Silverstein (yes, the same guy who ran the World Trade Center) and the expense of that as against a reasonable rent or purchse cost has saddled the station for 12 years. That lease was imposed by Pat Scott and the last group of coupsters. I offered to solve the problem in April - at a finance committee meeting with GRace Aaron, and again at the Berkeley PNB - and again in July at the PNB in NYC. But there were no takers among the current coupsters. Clearly, the enabling reason for the takeover by Pacifica and their compradores in NY would evaporate with the expense of that lease, and so there has been no movement in that direction.
For more information:
http://www.wbixradio.org
Don DeBar wrote about the 2007 WBAI elections lawsuit, of which I was the lead plaintiff:
"wasn't THAT done to destroy the network if they couldn't own it?"
The difference between our lawsuit and the new "Justice & Unity" lawsuit is profound: Ours, in 2007, simply demanded that the ballots not be counted until all who were eligible to vote and who were not sent ballots be sent ballots, and that they be counted, which would have cost the network at most $100 in mailing costs.
The JU's lawsuit seeks to VOID 15,000 ballots and do the whole election over again, and around 50 other items in their ridiculous court papers, costing the network $20,000 or more.
In other words, the Independents were fighting for members to have the right to vote. Justice & Unity is fighting to prevent members from having a vote.
Mitchel Cohen
Chair, WBAI Local Station Board
"wasn't THAT done to destroy the network if they couldn't own it?"
The difference between our lawsuit and the new "Justice & Unity" lawsuit is profound: Ours, in 2007, simply demanded that the ballots not be counted until all who were eligible to vote and who were not sent ballots be sent ballots, and that they be counted, which would have cost the network at most $100 in mailing costs.
The JU's lawsuit seeks to VOID 15,000 ballots and do the whole election over again, and around 50 other items in their ridiculous court papers, costing the network $20,000 or more.
In other words, the Independents were fighting for members to have the right to vote. Justice & Unity is fighting to prevent members from having a vote.
Mitchel Cohen
Chair, WBAI Local Station Board
For more information:
http://www.takeFORWARDwbai.org
Just read the pleadings. This "new and improved" management so bungled the list of eligible voters that almost 10,000 eleigible oters received no ballots and a like number of INeligible voters received ballots. Meanwhile, while their ticket runs on a claim of having "saved" WBAI, management is on the air all the time making the same claim, and they will not allow anyone to say differently.
Still waiting for a response, BTW. Suddenly Mitchel cimes in and his pal is silent.
Still waiting for a response, BTW. Suddenly Mitchel cimes in and his pal is silent.
For more information:
http://www.WBIXradio.org
Coalition to Take Back WBAI http://www.takebackwbai.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Nov. 24, 2009
WBAI Listeners and Staff Sue to Stop Fatally Flawed Board Election
Judge Sets Hearing for Dec. 7 to Consider Revote and Outside Election Supervisors after Massive Disenfranchisement, Errors, Bias, and Union-Busting Tactics
A New York Supreme Court judge has set a hearing for Mon., Dec. 7 on a suit filed by 26 listeners and unpaid staff at listener-sponsored WBAI Radio (99.5 FM) seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the fatally flawed election for the Local Station Board scheduled to conclude on Dec. 10.
The suit charges that errors and bias by WBAI management and election officials have led to massive voter disenfranchisement, biased interventions in the campaign, and union-busting efforts that have left dozens of unpaid staff without ballots and have stripped a legitimate staff candidate from the ballot without due process. Among the plaintiffs is prominent former civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart, ordered jailed last week, who is currently running for a seat on the WBAI board.
Early in Monday's hearing, Judge Michael Stallman proposed a settlement in which a respected outside election management agency would take over the election process. Roger Wareham, attorney for the plaintiffs, stated that his clients could accept the proposal with stipulations, but the attorney for the parent Pacifica Network, Oliver Hull, categorically rejected it.
The suit's 83-page, 146-paragraph complaint, filed against WBAI, the National Election Supervisor Les Radke, and Local Election Supervisor Ethan Young, documents the election's continuing chronic problems and violations of Pacifica's bylaws, Pacifica and WBAI's union contract, including (among many others):
use of an incorrect listener voter list, resulting in the massive disenfranchisement of 10,000 eligible voters (over 60% of members) who did not receive ballots, the sending of ballots to 9,000 ineligible voters, and the hiring of a partisan supporter of one slate to generate the "corrected" voter list to which new ballots were sent;
rejection of the bylaws-mandated use of the voter list from the unpaid staff union, which has a binding contract with WBAI, leading to many staff voters being disenfranchised;
inequitable access to air time by candidates and biased treatment of candidates who disagree with interim management, as well as pro-management propaganda sent along with the ballots;
arbitrary removal of one unpaid staff candidate from the ballot, and arbitrary orders by management barring dissenting unpaid staff and listener candidates from the station;
management's continuing breach of the unpaid staff union contract (in force since 2003), including a complete refusal to process any grievances;
contradictory, confusing and inadequate information provided to voters on election procedures and (ever-changing) deadlines; and
refusal to include with ballot materials a ballot to vote on whether to recall two board members, despite submission of petitions with the required number of signatures.
Among the remedies being sought by plaintiffs are these:
a halt to the current election and a re-run campaign period and balloting process;
retainer of independent election experts to carefully review both listener and staff lists for accuracy, and supervise the new ballot mailing, campaign period and ballot count;
restoration of an unpaid staff member removed from the staff ballot and reinstatement of listeners and staff barred from the station without due process;
enforcement of the unpaid staff contract in all respects; and
a freeze on board actions that would move toward new permanent management and changes in the decision-making structure for on-air programming. (WBAI's previous management was summarily removed by Pacifica in May without due process, in an action supported by the current majority of the WBAI board.)
Numerous efforts by plaintiffs to resolve the problems within WBAI and Pacifica were ignored or rebuffed, including an October 27 demand letter by the Coalition to Take Back WBAI requesting specific actions to address the many irregularities. "We have not lightly turned to the courts for relief," said plaintiff, WBAI board member, and New Jersey anti-racist activist Lisa Davis, "but the continuing, outrageous violations in this election have been so extreme that we had no choice. We must demand that the democratic will of WBAI's listeners and staff be respected, or else the station's precious mission of providing a voice to the voiceless will be in danger."
The hearing on the suit will take place on Mon., Dec. 7 at 9:45 AM at Supreme Court, IAS Part 7, 111 Centre Street, just north of Foley Square (4,5 trains to Brooklyn Bridge), in Room 949 before Judge Stallman.
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
DETAILS ON THE LAWSUIT: A full list of the irregularities and violations in the election and a list of the remedies sought by plaintiff is available on request and will be posted soon at http://www.takebackwbai.org
VOTING INFORMATION: The Coalition to Take Back WBAI advises WBAI voters as follows: If you need a ballot, IMMEDIATELY send an email with your name, address and phone number to election [at] wbai.org with copies to les [at] pacifica.org and info [at] justiceunity.org and call (212) 209-2828. To vote in this election, you must have contributed a total of at least $25 to WBAI or volunteered a total of 3 hours between July 16, 2008 and July 15, 2009. Your completed ballot must be returned in time to be received (not postmarked) by December 10, 2009.
For more information, go to http://www.takebackwbai.org or visit the Coalition's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/takebackwbaiorg/89438391508 .
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Nov. 24, 2009
WBAI Listeners and Staff Sue to Stop Fatally Flawed Board Election
Judge Sets Hearing for Dec. 7 to Consider Revote and Outside Election Supervisors after Massive Disenfranchisement, Errors, Bias, and Union-Busting Tactics
A New York Supreme Court judge has set a hearing for Mon., Dec. 7 on a suit filed by 26 listeners and unpaid staff at listener-sponsored WBAI Radio (99.5 FM) seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the fatally flawed election for the Local Station Board scheduled to conclude on Dec. 10.
The suit charges that errors and bias by WBAI management and election officials have led to massive voter disenfranchisement, biased interventions in the campaign, and union-busting efforts that have left dozens of unpaid staff without ballots and have stripped a legitimate staff candidate from the ballot without due process. Among the plaintiffs is prominent former civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart, ordered jailed last week, who is currently running for a seat on the WBAI board.
Early in Monday's hearing, Judge Michael Stallman proposed a settlement in which a respected outside election management agency would take over the election process. Roger Wareham, attorney for the plaintiffs, stated that his clients could accept the proposal with stipulations, but the attorney for the parent Pacifica Network, Oliver Hull, categorically rejected it.
The suit's 83-page, 146-paragraph complaint, filed against WBAI, the National Election Supervisor Les Radke, and Local Election Supervisor Ethan Young, documents the election's continuing chronic problems and violations of Pacifica's bylaws, Pacifica and WBAI's union contract, including (among many others):
use of an incorrect listener voter list, resulting in the massive disenfranchisement of 10,000 eligible voters (over 60% of members) who did not receive ballots, the sending of ballots to 9,000 ineligible voters, and the hiring of a partisan supporter of one slate to generate the "corrected" voter list to which new ballots were sent;
rejection of the bylaws-mandated use of the voter list from the unpaid staff union, which has a binding contract with WBAI, leading to many staff voters being disenfranchised;
inequitable access to air time by candidates and biased treatment of candidates who disagree with interim management, as well as pro-management propaganda sent along with the ballots;
arbitrary removal of one unpaid staff candidate from the ballot, and arbitrary orders by management barring dissenting unpaid staff and listener candidates from the station;
management's continuing breach of the unpaid staff union contract (in force since 2003), including a complete refusal to process any grievances;
contradictory, confusing and inadequate information provided to voters on election procedures and (ever-changing) deadlines; and
refusal to include with ballot materials a ballot to vote on whether to recall two board members, despite submission of petitions with the required number of signatures.
Among the remedies being sought by plaintiffs are these:
a halt to the current election and a re-run campaign period and balloting process;
retainer of independent election experts to carefully review both listener and staff lists for accuracy, and supervise the new ballot mailing, campaign period and ballot count;
restoration of an unpaid staff member removed from the staff ballot and reinstatement of listeners and staff barred from the station without due process;
enforcement of the unpaid staff contract in all respects; and
a freeze on board actions that would move toward new permanent management and changes in the decision-making structure for on-air programming. (WBAI's previous management was summarily removed by Pacifica in May without due process, in an action supported by the current majority of the WBAI board.)
Numerous efforts by plaintiffs to resolve the problems within WBAI and Pacifica were ignored or rebuffed, including an October 27 demand letter by the Coalition to Take Back WBAI requesting specific actions to address the many irregularities. "We have not lightly turned to the courts for relief," said plaintiff, WBAI board member, and New Jersey anti-racist activist Lisa Davis, "but the continuing, outrageous violations in this election have been so extreme that we had no choice. We must demand that the democratic will of WBAI's listeners and staff be respected, or else the station's precious mission of providing a voice to the voiceless will be in danger."
The hearing on the suit will take place on Mon., Dec. 7 at 9:45 AM at Supreme Court, IAS Part 7, 111 Centre Street, just north of Foley Square (4,5 trains to Brooklyn Bridge), in Room 949 before Judge Stallman.
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* *********
DETAILS ON THE LAWSUIT: A full list of the irregularities and violations in the election and a list of the remedies sought by plaintiff is available on request and will be posted soon at http://www.takebackwbai.org
VOTING INFORMATION: The Coalition to Take Back WBAI advises WBAI voters as follows: If you need a ballot, IMMEDIATELY send an email with your name, address and phone number to election [at] wbai.org with copies to les [at] pacifica.org and info [at] justiceunity.org and call (212) 209-2828. To vote in this election, you must have contributed a total of at least $25 to WBAI or volunteered a total of 3 hours between July 16, 2008 and July 15, 2009. Your completed ballot must be returned in time to be received (not postmarked) by December 10, 2009.
For more information, go to http://www.takebackwbai.org or visit the Coalition's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/takebackwbaiorg/89438391508 .
For more information:
http://www.WBIXradio.org
Did the rent cause the listenership to decrease? Did the rent cause fund drive failures with ever increasing days used on each fund drive? Did the rent stop the JUC controlled LSB from doing the annual review of the Program Director and GM which are required by the Bylaws? Did the rent cause the JUC LSB majotity to violate an LSB members right to due process, effectively kicking him off the LSB for 18 months for yelling at a meeting, while JUC members were given NO punishment for assault and physical indimidation at meetings? Did the rent cause the JUC and their allies to fight against Director's Inspections, aka Transparency? Did the rent cause $65,000 of equipment to be sent to the home of a JUC supported GM's father's house? Did the rent stop the JUC from reducing payroll costs when all the red ink was flowing? Etc, etc., etc, etc., etc.
Your group had 5 years to make WBAI better and all it did was get worse, and when anyone questioned what was going on out came the race card. No accountability, no transparency, your folks attacked those that had the nerve to say that your Emperor had no principles!
“Our leadership elite may still want to believe in democratic principles-they certainly profess that they do-but in practice they have shown themselves all too willing to violate those principles in order to gain or retain power”,
Cornel West from his book "Democracy Matters", page 28. He was speaking about our Nations leadership, and form my view point it describes perfectly the JUC, CL and their WPFW allies and the few from other stations, all the people in the collusion to control Pacifica and ignore the Bylaws, transparency, democratic process, due process and basic fair play!
For people claiming to be for social change your folks really scare me. You use the same dishonest "win at all costs" methods as Karl Rove. If you folks were running our society i know I would be in the opposition or in your jail because you can't handle the truth, don't practice democratic process and don't believe in transparency and fair play on a level playing field and practice double standards constantly!
Your folks have done nothing to deal with your indoctrination to be individualistic. Sectarianism is nothing more than group individualism. You practice power before principles, if you have any principles other than to win at all costs!
I am done with your BS. When I hear some serious and honest self criticism for the failures of your 5 years in control of WBAI, with PNB collusive support, I will take you seriously. Until then I have honest people to deal with.
Your group had 5 years to make WBAI better and all it did was get worse, and when anyone questioned what was going on out came the race card. No accountability, no transparency, your folks attacked those that had the nerve to say that your Emperor had no principles!
“Our leadership elite may still want to believe in democratic principles-they certainly profess that they do-but in practice they have shown themselves all too willing to violate those principles in order to gain or retain power”,
Cornel West from his book "Democracy Matters", page 28. He was speaking about our Nations leadership, and form my view point it describes perfectly the JUC, CL and their WPFW allies and the few from other stations, all the people in the collusion to control Pacifica and ignore the Bylaws, transparency, democratic process, due process and basic fair play!
For people claiming to be for social change your folks really scare me. You use the same dishonest "win at all costs" methods as Karl Rove. If you folks were running our society i know I would be in the opposition or in your jail because you can't handle the truth, don't practice democratic process and don't believe in transparency and fair play on a level playing field and practice double standards constantly!
Your folks have done nothing to deal with your indoctrination to be individualistic. Sectarianism is nothing more than group individualism. You practice power before principles, if you have any principles other than to win at all costs!
I am done with your BS. When I hear some serious and honest self criticism for the failures of your 5 years in control of WBAI, with PNB collusive support, I will take you seriously. Until then I have honest people to deal with.
You last post is so full of falsehoods that your conclusion about having "honest people to deal with" is an absurdity. Paul DiRienzo was suspended from the LSB because he screamed like a maniac "Sieg Heil" and other crazy shit while he was supposed to be conducting business. The only physical violence I know of at an LSB meeting was committed by one of your allies a few months ago, when he yanked a chair out from underneath an audience member, causing him to fall on his ass and hit his head on the floor, while another of your allies walked around swinging a sledge hammer (on videotape, BTW).
I notice you still haven't addressed the facts here, - should this election which placed nearly 10,000 ballots in the hands of non-eligible voters while denying some 10,000 eligible voters ballots be allowed to continue with patchwork, or is it too screwed up to salvage and voters better served by starting over? This touches just two of dozens of serious bylaws and fair campaign violations alleged in this suit, and the depth and breadth of these violations make the claims alleged in Cohen's 2007 suit as well as Grace Aaron's 2007 suit look like schoolyard pranks.
Meanwhile, while we await an addressing of the particular facts of this suit by you when your hissy fit abates, I again urge those interested in knowing what's going on to look for yourself at the pleadings in both Cohen, et al v. WBAI (2007) and Bergnes, et al (which includes, among others, Lynne Stewart as a plaintiff) v. WBAI (2009). Both cases are in Supreme Court, New York County. Most of the pleadings are available online in the earlier case at http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/iscroll/index.jsp while the pleadings in the more recent case will be available both there and also at http://www.takebackwbai.org within a few days.
I notice you still haven't addressed the facts here, - should this election which placed nearly 10,000 ballots in the hands of non-eligible voters while denying some 10,000 eligible voters ballots be allowed to continue with patchwork, or is it too screwed up to salvage and voters better served by starting over? This touches just two of dozens of serious bylaws and fair campaign violations alleged in this suit, and the depth and breadth of these violations make the claims alleged in Cohen's 2007 suit as well as Grace Aaron's 2007 suit look like schoolyard pranks.
Meanwhile, while we await an addressing of the particular facts of this suit by you when your hissy fit abates, I again urge those interested in knowing what's going on to look for yourself at the pleadings in both Cohen, et al v. WBAI (2007) and Bergnes, et al (which includes, among others, Lynne Stewart as a plaintiff) v. WBAI (2009). Both cases are in Supreme Court, New York County. Most of the pleadings are available online in the earlier case at http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/iscroll/index.jsp while the pleadings in the more recent case will be available both there and also at http://www.takebackwbai.org within a few days.
For more information:
http://www.WBIXradio.org
In case you care to deal with the facts of the case, these are the particulars culled by plaintiffs from their Complaint and supporting affidavits:
Election Irregularities and Violations of Bylaws, Labor Contract and
Board Policies
A. Listener Voter Irregularities and Biased Conduct by Supervisors and
Management
1. 10,000+ eligible voters did not receive ballots in the first mailing, and 9,000 allegedly
ineligible voters did receive ballots.
2. Voters deemed to be ineligible will have their ballots inactivated without notice or
right to appeal.
3. At least 1,362 listeners who became members via a PayPal donation on the station’s
website were not added to the database and thus didn’t get initial ballots; even after many
were finally sent ballots, 245 had no address or a faulty one and thus never got ballots.
4. Those who became members by volunteering were never added to the database, so
there is no verified list of such members, and the records for 85 of 391 listed volunteers
had no address or a faulty one, so they never got ballots.
5. Some listener members have received duplicate ballots, including in the recent mailing
to the “corrected” list.
6. Ballot return deadlines given to voters sent late ballots in October and November were
too short to allow sufficient time for voters to receive, review, cast and return ballots.
These short deadlines violated the Pacifica By-laws 45-day requirement.
7. Constantly shifting deadlines have been sporadically and confusingly communicated to
voters, leading some voters to discard ballots or be unable to return ballots on time.
8. Interim General Manager LaVarn Williams appointed Berthold Reimers, an endorser
of the ACE slate in this election and someone lacking expertise in WBAI’s database, to
determine who properly belongs on the listener voter list.
9. The failure to have an independent audit of the listener voter list creates the likelihood
that the voter pool includes unqualified voters and disenfranchises qualified voters.
10. National Election Supervisor Les Radke and Local Election Supervisor Ethan Young
filed to consistently notify listeners as to how to request ballots if they didn’t receive
them, and Young’s voicemail box was frequently filled.
11. Some voters’ ballots have had their names handwritten on the back, thus
compromising their right to a secret ballot.
12. Local Election Supervisor Ethan Young carried out a Post Office visit that was not
announced to all candidates for open witnessing, a serious violation of ballot security and
supervision.
13. Election supervisors allowed the ballot package to include a biased letter from Interim
Manager Williams, lauding her accomplishments – a major issue in the campaign - and
thus irreparably tainting the election.
14. Only 14 of the 41 listener candidates have received mandated equal time in on-air
debates, and there has only been one round of debates rather than the 3 that are mandated.
Also, none of the debates included the by-laws required listener phone-in segments.
15. Election supervisors failed to publish the candidates’ questionnaire responses despite
text of the ballots promising to include such information on the Pacifica website.
16. Election supervisors failed to put on the Pacifica website the four-minute candidate
statements that were requested to be recorded by each candidate.
17. Local Election Supervisor Young failed to organize four of the five promised
community debates by listener candidates.
18. Local Election Supervisor Young, contrary to his mandated independence from
management, followed a directive to instruct candidates not to mention present or former
WBAI personnel during on-air debates, thus damaging the ability of candidates who
disagree with recent management personnel actions from making their case.
19. Local Election Supervisor Young moderated on-air debates in a biased way, including
interrupting two Justice & Unity candidates and, at management’s behest, specifically
accusing one of conveying false information.
20. Management has arbitrarily barred two candidates from entering the station,
damaging their ability to gather information and interact with listener voters.
21. Several listeners and staff have also been barred by management from entering in the
station, impeding their ability to interact with candidates and learn more on which to base
their votes.
22. National Election Supervisor Les Radke showed favoritism to one candidate group
(ACE endorsees) by sending their mailing house the requested WBAI mailing list weeks
before sending it to the mailing house for Justice & Unity, thus preventing Justice &
Unity from reaching voters before the return deadline for that ballot mailing.
23. Pacifica failed to restrict abuses in private campaign mailings such as ACE’s offering
unauthorized station premiums as material incentives, and ACE and “Take Forward
WBAI” including photographs of prominent progressives misleadingly implying their
endorsement of the recommended candidates.
24. Pacifica refused to allow inclusion in the ballot mailing of a ballot on recalling two
board members, Stephen Brown and Mitchel Cohen, despite the submission of the
number of petition signatures required to obtain such a ballot.
25. The Pacifica National Board adopted a policy on recall procedures requiring that any
such recalls involving a candidate for election must be separated from the election, in
violation of the bylaws’ unrestricted right to petition for recall elections at any time.
B. Management Violations of Unpaid Staff Contract and Disenfranchisement of
Staff Voters and Candidate
1. Despite a binding labor contract in place since 2003 with the Unpaid Staff Organizing
Committee (USOC), Interim Manager Williams circulated a memo to staff with
incorrect information about how staff members qualify for the voter list that misstated
the union’s role.
2. Election Supervisors refused to correct a misleading memo from a so-called
“producers guild” listing itself and management as legitimate sources for registering
as voters, despite the explicit bylaws provision that assigns that role to the recognized
union.
3. Election Supervisors refused to accept the union’s submitted list of voters, and only
used management’s list, thus disenfranchising many unpaid staff voters -- in direct
violation of the bylaws mandate.
4. Election Supervisors ignored many requests from unpaid staff who were eligible
voters to receive ballots.
5. Election Supervisors not only denied USOC shop steward Cerene Roberts a ballot,
but also precluded her –without notice - from appearing on the staff ballot as a
candidate, although her nomination papers had earlier been accepted, and took no
action even after she documented her qualifications. These violations has completely
violated the democratic nature of the staff election. Ms. Roberts was also arbitrarily
barred from the station by Interim Manager Williams without notice or appeal.
6. Interim Manager Williams and Election Supervisors Radke and Young have
repeatedly refused to communicate with USOC or respond to its grievances filed as
per the union contract.
Remedies Sought by Plaintiffs for Election Irregularities and Violations
1. Declaration that the 2009 Delegate election is null and void, while preserving
recognized Delegate candidates, and staying further action to advance it. This is due
to violations of Pacifica Bylaws, Fair Campaign Provisions, Pacifica Local Station
Board Election Policy, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement with USOC.
2. Permanent injunction against the counting and certification of any election ballots
returned to date.
3. Complete reballoting for listener and staff Delegates should be implemented
expeditiously with new, visually distinct ballots mailed to newly complied lists of
members and staff.
4. A 45-day reballoting cycle in accordance with the Pacifica Bylaws.
5. Inclusion of all eligible listener voters – whether qualified by financial or time
donation -- in the WBAI database and in the 2009 voter list to receive ballots.
6. Creation of a password-protected, publicly accessible database by which all listener
members can check that their names are on the list, and can file an immediate appeal
if they wish to challenge their exclusion.
7. Requirement that fully verified duplicate listings of qualified listener members, and
be removed from the listener member voter list.
8. Removal of double listings of a voter as a listener member and a staff member.
9. Requirement that an expert in MEMSYS, the proprietary electronic database
management system used by WBAI, who is independent of Pacifica, be appointed to
resolve MEMSYS-related questions about listener member voter list.
10. Requirement that from now on, all listener members be entered into the listener
member database – including financial donors (by any payment method), time
donors, or those receiving hardship waivers – be included in the membership database
and voter lists.
11. No person who meets the Pacifica Bylaws’ criteria for listener membership can be
denied voting rights in the election for which they are eligible to vote.
12. Data entry of new listener members into the database to be done within six weeks,
and no person who has become a member up through the last qualification day can be
denied a ballot.
13. In the 2009 election and all future elections, all details of all electronic database
queries or other technical tools used in creation of voter lists must be recorded with
date- and time- stamps and the names of the authors, and all such queries shall be
made available to anyone for review and verification, as well as input on the methods
and decisions.
14. A documentation system of the extraction of voter lists from the database shall be
established, implemented throughout this process, and archived as station records for
election audits when and where necessary.
15. After the appointment of new elections officials, when ballots for the Local Station
Board election are removed and transferred to another location from the Post Office
box that was designed for receipt of ballots, at least three business days’ notice must
be provided by email to all Delegate candidates and published on the WBAI website,
with the designated time for pickup and transfer and the fact that such activities may
be witnessed by any WBAI listener or staff member;
16. All ballot envelopes received at the Post Office Box designated for receipt of ballots
must be counted and subsequent to transfer be kept in said Box, or if there is
insufficient space, in a public self-storage locker (which transfer may only occur as in
#15 above) until the expiration of the election period, thereafter to be removed as in
#15 above.
17. Permanent injunction preventing all defendants and any future National and Local
Election Supervisors from refusing to abide by and enforce the terms and conditions
of the USOC union contract.
18. Immediate reinstatement to all duties and responsibilities of all unpaid staff who were
barred from the station without receiving written notice of charges and a hearing prior
to disciplinary action being implemented.
19. All Unpaid Staff Organizing Committee grievances pending will immediately be
processed by WBAI management.
20. Before new ballots are mailed for the 2009 election and in all future elections,
Election Supervisors will assemble a combined list of qualified unpaid staff members
from the lists provided by USOC and management, which will be prominently
displayed at the station, and disseminated for review to all staff in a timely fashion.
21. Any person listed as an unpaid staff member on either USOC’s or Management’s
respective lists be subject to challenge and appeal by any person listed thereon, and
that such appeal will be resolved by an three-person arbitration process, as per the
USOC contract
22. Reinstatement to the new 2009 staff Delegate ballots of any unpaid staff member
who was disqualified and/or whose name was stricken without notice, and the
processing of an appeal – said appeal to be resolved by arbitration as per the USOC
contract.
23. In the reballoted 2009 WBAI Delegate election and all future Delegate elections, the
list of unpaid staff members to whom ballots are sent will be prepared by the methods
outlined in sections 17 through 22 above.
24. Replacement of National Election Supervisor Les Radke and Local Election
Supervisor Ethan Young by two independent and neutral persons with established,
recognized expertise in conducting elections, who may come from an organization
with that expertise, based on the recommendations made by the Pacifica National
Board Election Committee in March 2009, after a request for proposals. Said persons
shall oversee and supervise the determination of the eligible voting pool, distribution
of ballots, ensure a fair and equitable campaign process, adjudicate complaints about
violations of the Fair Campaign Provisions, supervise the return of ballots, oversee
the count for the new election cycle, certify the results of the election, and carry out
all other responsibilities specified in the Pacifica Bylaws for National and Local
Election Supervisors.
25. The official(s) responsible for election supervision shall fully and equitably enforce
the Pacifica Fair Campaign Provisions, and in particular adjudicate any outstanding
and future complaints of violations by on-air staff that unfairly benefit or penalize any
listener candidate or any group of listener candidates.
26. The Fair Campaign Provisions shall be enforced to rectify the disparity in the
treatment of the current listener member candidates in on-air debates, including
providing the opportunity for all those candidates who have heretofore not appeared
in on-air debates be accommodated.
27. Two new rounds of on-air debates, in which equal time is provided to all listener
member candidates, shall be scheduled as per Pacifica National Board policy, before
the close of the reballoted election.
28. Further community forums and debates to which all listener candidates are invited
with reasonable notice, shall be scheduled and moderated under the direction of the
replacement Election Supervisors throughout the listening area to provide the listener
members with the opportunity to inform their vote.
29. All listener member candidates shall be provided with the right to re-record their oneminute
and four-minute candidate announcements, and that WBAI shall play all oneminute
announcements on an equal basis rotated throughout the broadcast day until
the last day of the election period, and that WBAI shall place on its website or via
link to the Pacifica website the sound files of both the one-minute and four-minute
announcements by all candidates who record them.
30. Questionnaire responses submitted by all candidates shall be posted on the WBAI
website or via link to the Pacifica website.
31. Immediately permit entry to the station of any listener Delegate candidate barred from
the station so that they may resume their participation in station activities and interact
with potential voters like all other listener candidates.
32. Injunction against the dissemination of institutional election materials to voters that
are not content-neutral and do not support a sense of an impartial administration,
including any materials from management that contain self-serving compliments of
its own administration.
33. In preparation for the reballoting cycle, all heretofore certified candidates for WBAI
listener member Delegates shall be provided, either individually or in self-selected
groups, the opportunity to provide the equivalent of a half-page in support of their
candidacy to be enclosed with the ballot materials, paid for by Pacifica.
34. Permanent injunction from WBAI allowing its membership list to be used for any
mailings of literature supporting particular candidates to the WBAI membership list
financed through private contributions, which due to the large expense thereof have
created serious disparities between the candidates’ ability to present themselves to the
voters, and thus have undermined the fundamental fairness of the election process
35. The recall election of WBAI LSB Delegates Stephen Brown and Mitchel Cohen shall
be implemented concurrent with the reballoting cycle; and recall election ballots and
explanatory materials shall be included with the election ballots to allow voters to
exercise their right to recall Delegates before their terms expire.
36. Declaration that Section 7 of the Pacifica Foundation’s “Procedures for Delegate
Recall,” adopted by the Pacifica National Board on September 3, 2009, which states:
“All recall elections must be completed prior to 90 days before the date for sending
out of ballots for a general election, if any delegate subject to recall is eligible for
election in that general election,” is null and void, as it violates the Pacifica Bylaws,
Article 4, Section 9.
37. Injunction preventing the WBAI Local Station Board from continuing the
proceedings of its Management Search Committee or taking any other actions toward
formulating a recommendation for hiring permanent station management, and from
taking any steps itself or by its committees to constitute or reconstitute any Program
Council or similar body that deliberates on or determines the station’s programming
and alters the status quo until new Delegates are seated pursuant to a certified
Delegate election as provided herein.
38. Judgment granting costs and disbursements in the case.
Election Irregularities and Violations of Bylaws, Labor Contract and
Board Policies
A. Listener Voter Irregularities and Biased Conduct by Supervisors and
Management
1. 10,000+ eligible voters did not receive ballots in the first mailing, and 9,000 allegedly
ineligible voters did receive ballots.
2. Voters deemed to be ineligible will have their ballots inactivated without notice or
right to appeal.
3. At least 1,362 listeners who became members via a PayPal donation on the station’s
website were not added to the database and thus didn’t get initial ballots; even after many
were finally sent ballots, 245 had no address or a faulty one and thus never got ballots.
4. Those who became members by volunteering were never added to the database, so
there is no verified list of such members, and the records for 85 of 391 listed volunteers
had no address or a faulty one, so they never got ballots.
5. Some listener members have received duplicate ballots, including in the recent mailing
to the “corrected” list.
6. Ballot return deadlines given to voters sent late ballots in October and November were
too short to allow sufficient time for voters to receive, review, cast and return ballots.
These short deadlines violated the Pacifica By-laws 45-day requirement.
7. Constantly shifting deadlines have been sporadically and confusingly communicated to
voters, leading some voters to discard ballots or be unable to return ballots on time.
8. Interim General Manager LaVarn Williams appointed Berthold Reimers, an endorser
of the ACE slate in this election and someone lacking expertise in WBAI’s database, to
determine who properly belongs on the listener voter list.
9. The failure to have an independent audit of the listener voter list creates the likelihood
that the voter pool includes unqualified voters and disenfranchises qualified voters.
10. National Election Supervisor Les Radke and Local Election Supervisor Ethan Young
filed to consistently notify listeners as to how to request ballots if they didn’t receive
them, and Young’s voicemail box was frequently filled.
11. Some voters’ ballots have had their names handwritten on the back, thus
compromising their right to a secret ballot.
12. Local Election Supervisor Ethan Young carried out a Post Office visit that was not
announced to all candidates for open witnessing, a serious violation of ballot security and
supervision.
13. Election supervisors allowed the ballot package to include a biased letter from Interim
Manager Williams, lauding her accomplishments – a major issue in the campaign - and
thus irreparably tainting the election.
14. Only 14 of the 41 listener candidates have received mandated equal time in on-air
debates, and there has only been one round of debates rather than the 3 that are mandated.
Also, none of the debates included the by-laws required listener phone-in segments.
15. Election supervisors failed to publish the candidates’ questionnaire responses despite
text of the ballots promising to include such information on the Pacifica website.
16. Election supervisors failed to put on the Pacifica website the four-minute candidate
statements that were requested to be recorded by each candidate.
17. Local Election Supervisor Young failed to organize four of the five promised
community debates by listener candidates.
18. Local Election Supervisor Young, contrary to his mandated independence from
management, followed a directive to instruct candidates not to mention present or former
WBAI personnel during on-air debates, thus damaging the ability of candidates who
disagree with recent management personnel actions from making their case.
19. Local Election Supervisor Young moderated on-air debates in a biased way, including
interrupting two Justice & Unity candidates and, at management’s behest, specifically
accusing one of conveying false information.
20. Management has arbitrarily barred two candidates from entering the station,
damaging their ability to gather information and interact with listener voters.
21. Several listeners and staff have also been barred by management from entering in the
station, impeding their ability to interact with candidates and learn more on which to base
their votes.
22. National Election Supervisor Les Radke showed favoritism to one candidate group
(ACE endorsees) by sending their mailing house the requested WBAI mailing list weeks
before sending it to the mailing house for Justice & Unity, thus preventing Justice &
Unity from reaching voters before the return deadline for that ballot mailing.
23. Pacifica failed to restrict abuses in private campaign mailings such as ACE’s offering
unauthorized station premiums as material incentives, and ACE and “Take Forward
WBAI” including photographs of prominent progressives misleadingly implying their
endorsement of the recommended candidates.
24. Pacifica refused to allow inclusion in the ballot mailing of a ballot on recalling two
board members, Stephen Brown and Mitchel Cohen, despite the submission of the
number of petition signatures required to obtain such a ballot.
25. The Pacifica National Board adopted a policy on recall procedures requiring that any
such recalls involving a candidate for election must be separated from the election, in
violation of the bylaws’ unrestricted right to petition for recall elections at any time.
B. Management Violations of Unpaid Staff Contract and Disenfranchisement of
Staff Voters and Candidate
1. Despite a binding labor contract in place since 2003 with the Unpaid Staff Organizing
Committee (USOC), Interim Manager Williams circulated a memo to staff with
incorrect information about how staff members qualify for the voter list that misstated
the union’s role.
2. Election Supervisors refused to correct a misleading memo from a so-called
“producers guild” listing itself and management as legitimate sources for registering
as voters, despite the explicit bylaws provision that assigns that role to the recognized
union.
3. Election Supervisors refused to accept the union’s submitted list of voters, and only
used management’s list, thus disenfranchising many unpaid staff voters -- in direct
violation of the bylaws mandate.
4. Election Supervisors ignored many requests from unpaid staff who were eligible
voters to receive ballots.
5. Election Supervisors not only denied USOC shop steward Cerene Roberts a ballot,
but also precluded her –without notice - from appearing on the staff ballot as a
candidate, although her nomination papers had earlier been accepted, and took no
action even after she documented her qualifications. These violations has completely
violated the democratic nature of the staff election. Ms. Roberts was also arbitrarily
barred from the station by Interim Manager Williams without notice or appeal.
6. Interim Manager Williams and Election Supervisors Radke and Young have
repeatedly refused to communicate with USOC or respond to its grievances filed as
per the union contract.
Remedies Sought by Plaintiffs for Election Irregularities and Violations
1. Declaration that the 2009 Delegate election is null and void, while preserving
recognized Delegate candidates, and staying further action to advance it. This is due
to violations of Pacifica Bylaws, Fair Campaign Provisions, Pacifica Local Station
Board Election Policy, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement with USOC.
2. Permanent injunction against the counting and certification of any election ballots
returned to date.
3. Complete reballoting for listener and staff Delegates should be implemented
expeditiously with new, visually distinct ballots mailed to newly complied lists of
members and staff.
4. A 45-day reballoting cycle in accordance with the Pacifica Bylaws.
5. Inclusion of all eligible listener voters – whether qualified by financial or time
donation -- in the WBAI database and in the 2009 voter list to receive ballots.
6. Creation of a password-protected, publicly accessible database by which all listener
members can check that their names are on the list, and can file an immediate appeal
if they wish to challenge their exclusion.
7. Requirement that fully verified duplicate listings of qualified listener members, and
be removed from the listener member voter list.
8. Removal of double listings of a voter as a listener member and a staff member.
9. Requirement that an expert in MEMSYS, the proprietary electronic database
management system used by WBAI, who is independent of Pacifica, be appointed to
resolve MEMSYS-related questions about listener member voter list.
10. Requirement that from now on, all listener members be entered into the listener
member database – including financial donors (by any payment method), time
donors, or those receiving hardship waivers – be included in the membership database
and voter lists.
11. No person who meets the Pacifica Bylaws’ criteria for listener membership can be
denied voting rights in the election for which they are eligible to vote.
12. Data entry of new listener members into the database to be done within six weeks,
and no person who has become a member up through the last qualification day can be
denied a ballot.
13. In the 2009 election and all future elections, all details of all electronic database
queries or other technical tools used in creation of voter lists must be recorded with
date- and time- stamps and the names of the authors, and all such queries shall be
made available to anyone for review and verification, as well as input on the methods
and decisions.
14. A documentation system of the extraction of voter lists from the database shall be
established, implemented throughout this process, and archived as station records for
election audits when and where necessary.
15. After the appointment of new elections officials, when ballots for the Local Station
Board election are removed and transferred to another location from the Post Office
box that was designed for receipt of ballots, at least three business days’ notice must
be provided by email to all Delegate candidates and published on the WBAI website,
with the designated time for pickup and transfer and the fact that such activities may
be witnessed by any WBAI listener or staff member;
16. All ballot envelopes received at the Post Office Box designated for receipt of ballots
must be counted and subsequent to transfer be kept in said Box, or if there is
insufficient space, in a public self-storage locker (which transfer may only occur as in
#15 above) until the expiration of the election period, thereafter to be removed as in
#15 above.
17. Permanent injunction preventing all defendants and any future National and Local
Election Supervisors from refusing to abide by and enforce the terms and conditions
of the USOC union contract.
18. Immediate reinstatement to all duties and responsibilities of all unpaid staff who were
barred from the station without receiving written notice of charges and a hearing prior
to disciplinary action being implemented.
19. All Unpaid Staff Organizing Committee grievances pending will immediately be
processed by WBAI management.
20. Before new ballots are mailed for the 2009 election and in all future elections,
Election Supervisors will assemble a combined list of qualified unpaid staff members
from the lists provided by USOC and management, which will be prominently
displayed at the station, and disseminated for review to all staff in a timely fashion.
21. Any person listed as an unpaid staff member on either USOC’s or Management’s
respective lists be subject to challenge and appeal by any person listed thereon, and
that such appeal will be resolved by an three-person arbitration process, as per the
USOC contract
22. Reinstatement to the new 2009 staff Delegate ballots of any unpaid staff member
who was disqualified and/or whose name was stricken without notice, and the
processing of an appeal – said appeal to be resolved by arbitration as per the USOC
contract.
23. In the reballoted 2009 WBAI Delegate election and all future Delegate elections, the
list of unpaid staff members to whom ballots are sent will be prepared by the methods
outlined in sections 17 through 22 above.
24. Replacement of National Election Supervisor Les Radke and Local Election
Supervisor Ethan Young by two independent and neutral persons with established,
recognized expertise in conducting elections, who may come from an organization
with that expertise, based on the recommendations made by the Pacifica National
Board Election Committee in March 2009, after a request for proposals. Said persons
shall oversee and supervise the determination of the eligible voting pool, distribution
of ballots, ensure a fair and equitable campaign process, adjudicate complaints about
violations of the Fair Campaign Provisions, supervise the return of ballots, oversee
the count for the new election cycle, certify the results of the election, and carry out
all other responsibilities specified in the Pacifica Bylaws for National and Local
Election Supervisors.
25. The official(s) responsible for election supervision shall fully and equitably enforce
the Pacifica Fair Campaign Provisions, and in particular adjudicate any outstanding
and future complaints of violations by on-air staff that unfairly benefit or penalize any
listener candidate or any group of listener candidates.
26. The Fair Campaign Provisions shall be enforced to rectify the disparity in the
treatment of the current listener member candidates in on-air debates, including
providing the opportunity for all those candidates who have heretofore not appeared
in on-air debates be accommodated.
27. Two new rounds of on-air debates, in which equal time is provided to all listener
member candidates, shall be scheduled as per Pacifica National Board policy, before
the close of the reballoted election.
28. Further community forums and debates to which all listener candidates are invited
with reasonable notice, shall be scheduled and moderated under the direction of the
replacement Election Supervisors throughout the listening area to provide the listener
members with the opportunity to inform their vote.
29. All listener member candidates shall be provided with the right to re-record their oneminute
and four-minute candidate announcements, and that WBAI shall play all oneminute
announcements on an equal basis rotated throughout the broadcast day until
the last day of the election period, and that WBAI shall place on its website or via
link to the Pacifica website the sound files of both the one-minute and four-minute
announcements by all candidates who record them.
30. Questionnaire responses submitted by all candidates shall be posted on the WBAI
website or via link to the Pacifica website.
31. Immediately permit entry to the station of any listener Delegate candidate barred from
the station so that they may resume their participation in station activities and interact
with potential voters like all other listener candidates.
32. Injunction against the dissemination of institutional election materials to voters that
are not content-neutral and do not support a sense of an impartial administration,
including any materials from management that contain self-serving compliments of
its own administration.
33. In preparation for the reballoting cycle, all heretofore certified candidates for WBAI
listener member Delegates shall be provided, either individually or in self-selected
groups, the opportunity to provide the equivalent of a half-page in support of their
candidacy to be enclosed with the ballot materials, paid for by Pacifica.
34. Permanent injunction from WBAI allowing its membership list to be used for any
mailings of literature supporting particular candidates to the WBAI membership list
financed through private contributions, which due to the large expense thereof have
created serious disparities between the candidates’ ability to present themselves to the
voters, and thus have undermined the fundamental fairness of the election process
35. The recall election of WBAI LSB Delegates Stephen Brown and Mitchel Cohen shall
be implemented concurrent with the reballoting cycle; and recall election ballots and
explanatory materials shall be included with the election ballots to allow voters to
exercise their right to recall Delegates before their terms expire.
36. Declaration that Section 7 of the Pacifica Foundation’s “Procedures for Delegate
Recall,” adopted by the Pacifica National Board on September 3, 2009, which states:
“All recall elections must be completed prior to 90 days before the date for sending
out of ballots for a general election, if any delegate subject to recall is eligible for
election in that general election,” is null and void, as it violates the Pacifica Bylaws,
Article 4, Section 9.
37. Injunction preventing the WBAI Local Station Board from continuing the
proceedings of its Management Search Committee or taking any other actions toward
formulating a recommendation for hiring permanent station management, and from
taking any steps itself or by its committees to constitute or reconstitute any Program
Council or similar body that deliberates on or determines the station’s programming
and alters the status quo until new Delegates are seated pursuant to a certified
Delegate election as provided herein.
38. Judgment granting costs and disbursements in the case.
For more information:
http://www.WBIXradio.org
Dear WBAI Listeners and Staff --
Below is a press release sent out a few days ago by the Justice and Unity faction (aka JUC). It purports to be a faithful account of their appearance in New York State Supreme Court on Monday, Nov. 23, pursuant to their lawsuit against WBAI and Pacifica. However, their press release is a breathtaking masterpiece of fraud.
The JUC’s long-winded (and self-congratulatory) “report” comprises nearly one thousand words, but couldn’t find room for one teeny-weeny, itsy-bitsy, and (sigh) terribly inconvenient fact. Namely, that the JUC lost their appeal. The judge threw it out.
But you would never know that, since the JUC press release (check it out) doesn’t even mention the judge’s decision! That’s like reporting that a performance of Our American Cousin, attended by President and Mrs Lincoln, was interrupted midway by a disturbance when a former actor jumped from the balcony and ran out of the theater.
Not only did the JUC’s press release fail to mention the minor point that the judge had ruled against them, it also ludicrously struck a note of ecstatic triumphalism, as if they had won instead of lost. I suppose they thought that most people would not read the decision, and believe whatever they wrote in their press release. So what really did happen in court?
On Friday, Nov. 20, the JUC had petitioned the New York State Supreme Court for a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) to halt the WBAI election and block the counting of ballots -- so that no winners could be declared. Why? Because it was clear that the JUC candidates -- who had promised to bring back fired Program Director Bernard White and discredited Station Manager Tony Riddle -- would lose by a landslide. The court hearing (which I attended) was scheduled for Monday, Nov. 23, at which Judge Michael Stallman would decide whether or not to grant the JUC’s petition – which was nearly 100 pages long, and seemed, from its style, to be mostly the handiwork of Bob Lederer, comprising as it did his signature amalgam of crude teeth-gnashing and unctuous self-righteousness.
Not only did Judge Stallman throw out the JUC’s petition (as I mentioned above), he also made it humiliatingly clear, in his oral announcement to the parties, that the JUC and its lawyer were nincompoops. The judge told the lawyer and his JUC clients that, “This court is not a retail store where you can come in and get whatever you want.” And (barely suppressing his laughter) disdainfully characterized the JUC’s legal arguments as, “in effect, asking that Pacifica should be punished first – and then tried later.”
The judge also nearly ejected Mimi Rosenberg from the courtroom, for continually jumping up to yell out instructions on how the judge should run the case, and what the law was. (Gee, that doesn’t sound like Mimi at all, does it?)
.
Initially cocksure of victory, Bob Lederer, Sheila Hamanaka, Mimi Rosenberg, Russell Dale and the rest of the JUC gang strutted into court with their noses in the air, but slunk out with their tails between their legs.
Although it was an amusing morning, it was also sad waste of time and a drain on the meager resources of WBAI and Pacifica, which, regrettably, has been the only constant in the behavior of the JUC for the last seven years.
Steve Brown
Below is a press release sent out a few days ago by the Justice and Unity faction (aka JUC). It purports to be a faithful account of their appearance in New York State Supreme Court on Monday, Nov. 23, pursuant to their lawsuit against WBAI and Pacifica. However, their press release is a breathtaking masterpiece of fraud.
The JUC’s long-winded (and self-congratulatory) “report” comprises nearly one thousand words, but couldn’t find room for one teeny-weeny, itsy-bitsy, and (sigh) terribly inconvenient fact. Namely, that the JUC lost their appeal. The judge threw it out.
But you would never know that, since the JUC press release (check it out) doesn’t even mention the judge’s decision! That’s like reporting that a performance of Our American Cousin, attended by President and Mrs Lincoln, was interrupted midway by a disturbance when a former actor jumped from the balcony and ran out of the theater.
Not only did the JUC’s press release fail to mention the minor point that the judge had ruled against them, it also ludicrously struck a note of ecstatic triumphalism, as if they had won instead of lost. I suppose they thought that most people would not read the decision, and believe whatever they wrote in their press release. So what really did happen in court?
On Friday, Nov. 20, the JUC had petitioned the New York State Supreme Court for a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) to halt the WBAI election and block the counting of ballots -- so that no winners could be declared. Why? Because it was clear that the JUC candidates -- who had promised to bring back fired Program Director Bernard White and discredited Station Manager Tony Riddle -- would lose by a landslide. The court hearing (which I attended) was scheduled for Monday, Nov. 23, at which Judge Michael Stallman would decide whether or not to grant the JUC’s petition – which was nearly 100 pages long, and seemed, from its style, to be mostly the handiwork of Bob Lederer, comprising as it did his signature amalgam of crude teeth-gnashing and unctuous self-righteousness.
Not only did Judge Stallman throw out the JUC’s petition (as I mentioned above), he also made it humiliatingly clear, in his oral announcement to the parties, that the JUC and its lawyer were nincompoops. The judge told the lawyer and his JUC clients that, “This court is not a retail store where you can come in and get whatever you want.” And (barely suppressing his laughter) disdainfully characterized the JUC’s legal arguments as, “in effect, asking that Pacifica should be punished first – and then tried later.”
The judge also nearly ejected Mimi Rosenberg from the courtroom, for continually jumping up to yell out instructions on how the judge should run the case, and what the law was. (Gee, that doesn’t sound like Mimi at all, does it?)
.
Initially cocksure of victory, Bob Lederer, Sheila Hamanaka, Mimi Rosenberg, Russell Dale and the rest of the JUC gang strutted into court with their noses in the air, but slunk out with their tails between their legs.
Although it was an amusing morning, it was also sad waste of time and a drain on the meager resources of WBAI and Pacifica, which, regrettably, has been the only constant in the behavior of the JUC for the last seven years.
Steve Brown
Dear WBAI Listeners and Staff --
Below is a press release sent out a few days ago by the Justice and Unity faction (aka JUC). It purports to be a faithful account of their appearance in New York State Supreme Court on Monday, Nov. 23, pursuant to their lawsuit against WBAI and Pacifica. However, their press release is a breathtaking masterpiece of fraud.
The JUC’s long-winded (and self-congratulatory) “report” comprises nearly one thousand words, but couldn’t find room for one teeny-weeny, itsy-bitsy, and (sigh) terribly inconvenient fact. Namely, that the JUC lost their appeal. The judge threw it out.
But you would never know that, since the JUC press release (check it out) doesn’t even mention the judge’s decision! That’s like reporting that a performance of Our American Cousin, attended by President and Mrs Lincoln, was interrupted midway by a disturbance when a former actor jumped from the balcony and ran out of the theater.
Not only did the JUC’s press release fail to mention the minor point that the judge had ruled against them, it also ludicrously struck a note of ecstatic triumphalism, as if they had won instead of lost. I suppose they thought that most people would not read the decision, and believe whatever they wrote in their press release. So what really did happen in court?
On Friday, Nov. 20, the JUC had petitioned the New York State Supreme Court for a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) to halt the WBAI election and block the counting of ballots -- so that no winners could be declared. Why? Because it was clear that the JUC candidates -- who had promised to bring back fired Program Director Bernard White and discredited Station Manager Tony Riddle -- would lose by a landslide. The court hearing (which I attended) was scheduled for Monday, Nov. 23, at which Judge Michael Stallman would decide whether or not to grant the JUC’s petition – which was nearly 100 pages long, and seemed, from its style, to be mostly the handiwork of Bob Lederer, comprising as it did his signature amalgam of crude teeth-gnashing and unctuous self-righteousness.
Not only did Judge Stallman throw out the JUC’s petition (as I mentioned above), he also made it humiliatingly clear, in his oral announcement to the parties, that the JUC and its lawyer were nincompoops. The judge told the lawyer and his JUC clients that, “This court is not a retail store where you can come in and get whatever you want.” And (barely suppressing his laughter) disdainfully characterized the JUC’s legal arguments as, “in effect, asking that Pacifica should be punished first – and then tried later.”
The judge also nearly ejected Mimi Rosenberg from the courtroom, for continually jumping up to yell out instructions on how the judge should run the case, and what the law was. (Gee, that doesn’t sound like Mimi at all, does it?)
.
Initially cocksure of victory, Bob Lederer, Sheila Hamanaka, Mimi Rosenberg, Russell Dale and the rest of the JUC gang strutted into court with their noses in the air, but slunk out with their tails between their legs.
Although it was an amusing morning, it was also sad waste of time and a drain on the meager resources of WBAI and Pacifica, which, regrettably, has been the only constant in the behavior of the JUC for the last seven years.
Steve Brown
Below is a press release sent out a few days ago by the Justice and Unity faction (aka JUC). It purports to be a faithful account of their appearance in New York State Supreme Court on Monday, Nov. 23, pursuant to their lawsuit against WBAI and Pacifica. However, their press release is a breathtaking masterpiece of fraud.
The JUC’s long-winded (and self-congratulatory) “report” comprises nearly one thousand words, but couldn’t find room for one teeny-weeny, itsy-bitsy, and (sigh) terribly inconvenient fact. Namely, that the JUC lost their appeal. The judge threw it out.
But you would never know that, since the JUC press release (check it out) doesn’t even mention the judge’s decision! That’s like reporting that a performance of Our American Cousin, attended by President and Mrs Lincoln, was interrupted midway by a disturbance when a former actor jumped from the balcony and ran out of the theater.
Not only did the JUC’s press release fail to mention the minor point that the judge had ruled against them, it also ludicrously struck a note of ecstatic triumphalism, as if they had won instead of lost. I suppose they thought that most people would not read the decision, and believe whatever they wrote in their press release. So what really did happen in court?
On Friday, Nov. 20, the JUC had petitioned the New York State Supreme Court for a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) to halt the WBAI election and block the counting of ballots -- so that no winners could be declared. Why? Because it was clear that the JUC candidates -- who had promised to bring back fired Program Director Bernard White and discredited Station Manager Tony Riddle -- would lose by a landslide. The court hearing (which I attended) was scheduled for Monday, Nov. 23, at which Judge Michael Stallman would decide whether or not to grant the JUC’s petition – which was nearly 100 pages long, and seemed, from its style, to be mostly the handiwork of Bob Lederer, comprising as it did his signature amalgam of crude teeth-gnashing and unctuous self-righteousness.
Not only did Judge Stallman throw out the JUC’s petition (as I mentioned above), he also made it humiliatingly clear, in his oral announcement to the parties, that the JUC and its lawyer were nincompoops. The judge told the lawyer and his JUC clients that, “This court is not a retail store where you can come in and get whatever you want.” And (barely suppressing his laughter) disdainfully characterized the JUC’s legal arguments as, “in effect, asking that Pacifica should be punished first – and then tried later.”
The judge also nearly ejected Mimi Rosenberg from the courtroom, for continually jumping up to yell out instructions on how the judge should run the case, and what the law was. (Gee, that doesn’t sound like Mimi at all, does it?)
.
Initially cocksure of victory, Bob Lederer, Sheila Hamanaka, Mimi Rosenberg, Russell Dale and the rest of the JUC gang strutted into court with their noses in the air, but slunk out with their tails between their legs.
Although it was an amusing morning, it was also sad waste of time and a drain on the meager resources of WBAI and Pacifica, which, regrettably, has been the only constant in the behavior of the JUC for the last seven years.
Steve Brown
...and he did it on tape. His colleagues had nothing to say until they could put their pointy heads together and work out a common line. Nevertheless, this will be before the court next Monday, December 7, and the judge, not Steve Brown or his hirelings, will decide on the merits whether the incredibly long lists of violations and REAL nin-compoop actions by WBAI's current mismanagement have had sufficient effect on the validity of the ever-shifting election to force a do-over under independent supervision.
For more information:
http://www.WBIXradio.org
Another frivilous lawsuit against Pacifica by the Justice and Unity folks is thrown out of court.
The injunction was denied, as the judge decided that the relief sought could be obtained in due course without it. His opinion clearly favored the coupsters at WBAI and Pacifica - he didn't even get the fact that the election has been on-going for many months, instead saying that "it cannot be said, prior to the election, that (the violations alleged are) likely to effect the result."
It should also be noted that this particular judge, Hon. Michael D. Stallman, helped construct the narrow interpretation of the Local Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2005 that prevails which, thanks in part to his reading of it, allows in practice a myriad of discriminatory behaviors in the workplace despite the plain meaning of the statute. Not exactly a guy who puts justice first. See http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2009/2009_00440.htm
The WBAI/Pacifica decision ON THE INJUNCTION is here:
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK - NEW YORK COUNTY
PRESENT: Hon. MICHAEL D. STALLMAN, Justice
Index No.: 116301/2009
Motion Date: 12/7/09 in Part 7
Motion Seq. No.: 001
LINDA BERGNES, et al.,
PLAINTIFFS
-v-
PACIFICA FOUNDATION, INC., et al.,
DEFENDANTS
The following papers, numbered 1 to 8, were read on this motion for preliminary injunction.
Order To Show Cause - Summons and Complaint - Amended Complaint (1-5)
Answering Affadavits - Exhibits - Replying Affadavits - Exhibits (6-8)
CROSS MOTION: NO
After hearing counsel for both sides on 11/23/09 and 12/7/09,
Upon the foregoing papers, It is ORDERED that this motion for inter alia a preliminary injunction enjoining the holding of an election for the WBAI board, the tabulation of ballots scheduled to begin on December 9, 2009, and for other injunctive/equitable relief concerning the qualification of voters and the conduct of pre-election and voting procedures, is denied. Plaintiffs have not met their burden of proving entitlement to the relief sought, which is essentially coterminous with the ultimate relief they seek in the Amended Complaint.
Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they would be immediately and irreparably harmed by the holding of the scheduled private election. Were the election held, and if plaintiffs were to amass sufficient proof after an investigation, that the alleged irregularities would have affected the result, then they could bring a new proceeding in proper form for inter alia a new election.
A prior restraint on private election procedures is highly unusual for good reason. Much of the relief sought here is already moot, especially that dealing with the conduct of election debates and meetings that already took place. Similarly, plaintiffs have not shown a likelihood of prevailing on the merits. Indeed, much of plaintiffs' showing as to ballot distribution is anecdotal and hearsay, and concerns a relatively small number of people; it cannot be said, prior to the election, that it is likely to [a]ffect the result. Neither have they shown that the procedures have irrevocably tainted the results. Notwithstanding the wording of the USOC contract, plaintiffs have not demonstrated that defendants Pacifica or the management of WBAI acted wrongly in making management decisions that may have excluded certain persons viewed as disruptive from the station or meetings. Plaintiffs have not shown that the equities balance in their favor. The expense and logistics of holding a new election are such that they should not be imposed on this not-for-profit entity without sufficient proof.
Dated: 12/7/09
(J.S.C.)
It should also be noted that this particular judge, Hon. Michael D. Stallman, helped construct the narrow interpretation of the Local Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2005 that prevails which, thanks in part to his reading of it, allows in practice a myriad of discriminatory behaviors in the workplace despite the plain meaning of the statute. Not exactly a guy who puts justice first. See http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2009/2009_00440.htm
The WBAI/Pacifica decision ON THE INJUNCTION is here:
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK - NEW YORK COUNTY
PRESENT: Hon. MICHAEL D. STALLMAN, Justice
Index No.: 116301/2009
Motion Date: 12/7/09 in Part 7
Motion Seq. No.: 001
LINDA BERGNES, et al.,
PLAINTIFFS
-v-
PACIFICA FOUNDATION, INC., et al.,
DEFENDANTS
The following papers, numbered 1 to 8, were read on this motion for preliminary injunction.
Order To Show Cause - Summons and Complaint - Amended Complaint (1-5)
Answering Affadavits - Exhibits - Replying Affadavits - Exhibits (6-8)
CROSS MOTION: NO
After hearing counsel for both sides on 11/23/09 and 12/7/09,
Upon the foregoing papers, It is ORDERED that this motion for inter alia a preliminary injunction enjoining the holding of an election for the WBAI board, the tabulation of ballots scheduled to begin on December 9, 2009, and for other injunctive/equitable relief concerning the qualification of voters and the conduct of pre-election and voting procedures, is denied. Plaintiffs have not met their burden of proving entitlement to the relief sought, which is essentially coterminous with the ultimate relief they seek in the Amended Complaint.
Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they would be immediately and irreparably harmed by the holding of the scheduled private election. Were the election held, and if plaintiffs were to amass sufficient proof after an investigation, that the alleged irregularities would have affected the result, then they could bring a new proceeding in proper form for inter alia a new election.
A prior restraint on private election procedures is highly unusual for good reason. Much of the relief sought here is already moot, especially that dealing with the conduct of election debates and meetings that already took place. Similarly, plaintiffs have not shown a likelihood of prevailing on the merits. Indeed, much of plaintiffs' showing as to ballot distribution is anecdotal and hearsay, and concerns a relatively small number of people; it cannot be said, prior to the election, that it is likely to [a]ffect the result. Neither have they shown that the procedures have irrevocably tainted the results. Notwithstanding the wording of the USOC contract, plaintiffs have not demonstrated that defendants Pacifica or the management of WBAI acted wrongly in making management decisions that may have excluded certain persons viewed as disruptive from the station or meetings. Plaintiffs have not shown that the equities balance in their favor. The expense and logistics of holding a new election are such that they should not be imposed on this not-for-profit entity without sufficient proof.
Dated: 12/7/09
(J.S.C.)
For more information:
http://www.WBIXradio.org
For more information:
http://www.WBIXradio.org
The previous video didn't upload properly. Here is the new link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrRLuIMyZlU
For more information:
http://www.WBIXradio.org
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$210.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network