Does Staff Rep Shahram Aghamir Represent KPFA Staff Interests?

Shahram Aghamir is the only staff representative from KPFA to the Pacifica National Board; he is supposed to represent the interests of both paid and unpaid staff. Yet, during a moment of great financial hardship, he voted to order the National Elections Supervisor to send expensive and ecologically-wasteful print campaign booklets to all of KPFA subscribers, instead of allowing them to access the statements online as planned.

The cost to KPFA was over $15,000 at a time when the station may not make payroll. Subsequently, one of KPFA's longtime African American receptionists has been laid off (and the station no longer has a receptionist on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, when guests arrive for interviews).

Whose interests is Aghamir serving? It doesn't appear to be those of the KPFA staff.

Below is a statement sent by KPFA's union, Communications Workers of America Local 9415, protesting the vote.

Date: Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 12:43 PM
Subject: Resolution of the Union staff at KPFA
To: Pacifica National Board
Cc: Arlene Englehardt, Ahmad Anderson

Communication Workers of America, Local 9415, which represents the paid union staff at KPFA, protests in the strongest terms the Pacifica National Board order to have candidate statements mailed out with LSB ballots, which would require an expenditure of tens of thousands of dollars, while KPFA is in deep financial crisis. Staff have suffered significant layoffs, and KPFA may not be able to meet payroll in the near future. Union staff believe that the original plan of mailing out ballots with a message telling voters to check the website for candidate statements is sufficient.