Does Staff Rep Shahram Aghamir Represent KPFA Staff Interests?

It is worth noting that Concerned Listeners - Save KPFA'er Andrea Turner also voted to send the ballot books to voters at the last PNB meeting. Andrea Turner is an African-American woman.

Ms. Russell was a non-union employee who worked 10 or so hours a week as a relief receptionist assisting the CWA-affiliated receptionist at KPFA. She earned less than a $1,000 a month with no benefits. Her departure is unlikely to assist KPFA too much with meeting a $15,000 bill. She didn't make that much in a whole year.

KPFA has had a pattern of choosing non-union and part-time employees to bear the brunt of the layoffs caused by the decline in listener donations. Kellia Ramares made a statement to this effect when she was laid off from a similar low-hour job with the weekend news.

The growing debate about the operations of the elections at KPFA and Pacifica raises even more questions about the functioning of this organization. In the first place, there has been no explanation by the National Election supervisor who is supposed to be running the election or the Pacifica National Board which the ICR controlls about why basic information about the candidates was not sent out when the ballot was sent out. Instead of having this information the only materil besides the ballot that arrived the same day was the "Save KPFA" literature.
Secondly, the "Save KPFA" grouping apparently operates the union chapter at KPFA CWA 9415 as it's own political ally in internal KPFA and Pacifica politics. Has CWA 9415 taken the same position as KPFA programmer Sasha Lilley and others including Matthew Lazar that Pacifica and KPFA should end elections of board members and have an appointed board?
Apparently in the effort of the "Save KPFA" grouping to only allow information about themselves going out to listeners with the ballot they have gotten the union local to say that KPFA voters should only be given the website of the organizations. In the first place, what about independent candidates that don't have a web site or email? Wouldn't this be discrimination against them. And secondly what about people who don't have access to a computer and the internet. Do you have to have this to get information about the candidates and their slates when getting the ballot. This action of the KFPA CWA 9415 union chapter run by supporters of "Save KPFA" shows it to be unprincipled and violating the principles of democratic and union democracy. Another question to be asked in how this democratic union operates is whether or not there was a democratic process that the CWA 9415 chapter made this decision on how the election is being conducted. Did all members of the union get notified that this decision would be made and they had a right to participate in this decision or was it made by Mark KPFA news manager and Mark Mericle who is also a Vice President of Local 9415 in the East Bay?
This is not the first time that the CWA Local 9415 has intervened in the internal KPFA politics. They also had the former leader of the CWA 9415 local sending a letter to the KPFA Local Station Board saying that one of the board members who they opposed politically had created a harmful workplace atmosphere. This was also done by the "Concerned Listeners" CL now "Save KPFA" grouping without consulting or allowing the participation of all the CWA members at the station. This debate now about how the election is being conducted again raises questions and more questions.

The comments to the original post sound like they are coming from anti-union people, who resent the fact that KPFA's workers are organized and represented.

Workers get to take positions through their union, on political matters as well as things affecting their workplace. They get to ally with listeners or anyone else they choose. Thank goodness we have workers who care so much about KPFA. How they put up with the constant hostile working environment and still do their jobs (at low-pay) is amazing. They deserve our thanks and support.

The ballots clearly state how to vote, and to call for a booklet if you don't have internet access. There was no need to mail reams of paper to listeners, a massive cost resulting in layoffs and other cuts.

It's not rocket science folks. It's common sense.

Why do people *still* try to salvage what's left of KPFA? The network is obsolete, sullied by corporate criminals, it's long since been time to accept the fact that it's time to pack up and walk away and create something that actually benefits progressives and benefits society.

A few things to note in these ever more confusing posts:

I hear what the skeptical guy is saying, but personally I don't buy it. 59,000 watt transmitters on the prime FM dial don't come along every day and while technology and media is constantly evolving, there are certain hard and cold facts about infrastructure and reach that still matter. Whether the Internet will remain an open conduit in the future is very much up for grabs. Net neutrality matters, and it isn't clear if it will happen. The corporate sharks are circling. So no, you don't just concede that Pacifica's 5 transmitters are unimportant. They are not.

In terms of the election mailing: Election costs have little to nothing to do with KPFA's layoffs. KPFA's layoffs are caused by a big structural operating deficit that is caused by the 15% decline is listener donations that happened when the economy collapsed in the Fall of 2008. When 25% of California is unemployed or underemployed, that is what happens. Every sector, including the nonprofit one, has experienced significant job loss and no, KPFA is not exempt. It is sad and it is simply math.

Had the layoffs gone through when proposed in October of 2008, KPFA would be in better shape. Smaller, but with a cash reserve for emergencies and not behind in its bills and insecure about meeting monthly payroll. But they didn't. They didn't until the spring of 2010 - a year and a half later. Not until Independents for Community Radio assumed a majority on the board and the Save KPFA - Concerned Listeners manager moved on. By that time, KPFA had posted a $652,000 operating loss followed by a $275,000 operating loss.

The hemorrhaging has basically slowed down now that the layoffs have been made, but all reserve funds and savings are gone, so the station gets very, very tight between fund drives and is vulnerable to emergency or unanticipated expenses. It's too bad and it was caused by a bad board and bad managers in alliance. They didn't do a good job. It is a good thing that there is an election process to change over the board when it is performing badly. That is what was fought for a decade ago and it matters.

Election costs are real, but they are far from the prime mover. Look at the numbers. Elections costs network wide about $160,000 to $200,000. KPFA's share of that ranges from about $45,000 to a high of perhaps $70,000. That is about 2% of KPFA's budget. At the most. Eliminate the entire thing and your operating deficit drops from $1,000,000 to $900,000. You still have to reduce your operating expenses by a humongous amount. I realize that is sad, but there isn't any way out of it. The listeners cannot afford the current structure when they are struggling themselves to make ends meet. If you care about the institution, you bring expenses into line with revenues. Just like households do. If you rent is too high, you have to move to a less expensive location. At least after the credit cards run out. Preferably before.

Finally, my good friend Shahram Aghamir doesn't deserve this anonymous smear. He has been a tireless advocate for this station and this network, produces a fine show, and in 2007 received more support from KPFA staff voters than any staff representative has received in an internal election ever.

I do hope that KPFA moves to on-line voting in 2012. It will cut expenses and it makes sense to me. But it is important that voters get the information they need to make good decisions for the station they own. How could anyone get informed by this Indybay barrage? Sadly we sometimes echo the problems of the larger society in our own processes and get overwhelmed by propaganda, deception and the use of money to sway voters. I hope this process gets a bit healthier in the future, but we can only be where we are.

I voted against the ballot book mailing myself (at the PNB Election Committee), but I can see both sides of it.

Vote Indyradio. http://www.voteindyradio.org

my favorite programs are late nite setting standard and guns and butter. the herbal healing program and own health and fitness.low riders, but ever other program i cal ''the torture report''. all these people being tortured like its a necessary rite of passage in ''the modern world''!

October 1, 2010:
GodSaveKPFA- aka Concerned Paycheck which defers to the Professional staff at KPFA, protests in the strongest terms the payment of electrical bills while in deep financial crisis. Staff should be first in line for its unquestionable payroll entitlement in the near future and forever. Everyone should just get us our money from the sheep... er : the "Listening Community" just leave us alone to continue running the thing into the ground as we've already been doing. Who needs a board anyway?

"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 [...]"

CWA Local 9415 is run by the entrenched paid staff gang that supports and controls the dishonestly-named 'Save KPFA' slate -- a slate which, despite the financial hard times, has money to send out mailings for its candidates, and doesn't want station money to be used to level the playing field. In previous elections, at least before 2009, they managed to sabotage to a great extent the opportunity for candidates to be heard on the air, thus making their own expensive mailings more weighty in determining how listeners voted.

CWA Local 9415, a union for paid staff only that, as part of the Democratic Party hijacking of Pacifica in the mid-1990's and with the collaboration of paid staff, replaced the former all-staff United Electrical Workers local, is part of the problem at KPFA. Because it's officially a 'union', many on the left are afraid to oppose it. For more of the history of the treachery of paid staff and the CWA at KPFA, see the 2004 article by Maria Gelardin, The Old Regime's Legacy at KPFA, at http://danielborgstrom.blogspot.com/2004/08/old-regimes-legacy-at-kpfa.html.

"I voted against the ballot book mailing myself (at the PNB Election Committee), but I can see both sides of it."


This is classic Tracy Rosenberg, rejecting the principle of "inclusive elections" to try to get a few votes and look open minded, just like a typical corporate politician putting power before principles.

If we are going to have elections they MUST be inclusive. There are not two sides to this issue if you are truly PROGRESSIVE. There was never two sides to women's right to vote or slavery or gay marriage, etc. for the true progressives of those times, despite the pseudo articulations of those that like to hang out near Jim Hightower's "double yellow lines".

If you don't send out the candidate statements and expect people to go on line to find them you will greatly decrease the numbers voting and increase the power of the $late mailer$, money dominating our elections. Who gets left out? Lower income people who don't own a computer and older people that have not gotten into computers. The lower income people, by the nature of our stratified society will be a larger percentage of women and people of color than the voter population as a whole. How hard is that to figure out if your primary goal is an "inclusive election" versus gaining personal power! Every study done on the voters rights movement of the civil rights era demonstrated that every impediment to voting, literacy tests, poll taxes or just a sheriff with a shotgun standing at the polling place door will reduce the voter turnout. Mostly common sense.

I encourage people to not vote for any CLers and only vote for 7-8 of the ICR people that have demonstrated to you true progressive values. That excludes Tracy Rosenberg based on what I have personally seen over the last few years. Tracy Rosenberg is responsible for there not being a unified listener slate for the last two elections. She walked away from discussions to create a unified campaign each time and I believe she did it so that she would not have to share power with PeopleRadio folks or other independent, knowledgeable and Mission before personal power listener activists.

Just one example of Tracy's undemocratic practices in last years election. Henry Norr, Aki and Chandra and others were not consulted as to the suggested rankings sent out by ICR. Had PeopleRadio folks or other independent democratically oriented individuals been involved that would not have been allowed to happen. PeoplsRadio didn't rank our candidates and if we had it would have been after a discussion and vote. There are many more examples and I am saving a few to respond to the personal attacts I expect to come for speaking truth about those that want power before Mission.

Please study the candidates and don't just check off people from a slate mailer. Thank you.



Richard Phelps, former Chair KPFA LSB

I started a long explanation, but does anyone really read this stuff anyway? I know Richard is reading. I guess for now it's enough to say Richard -- one obvious thing you can see here is that allies on the non-Concerned Listener/SaveKPFA-Mart side DO sometimes disagree -- and still consider each other to be allies! Isn't that refreshing at least?

There is a lot of history about this ballot booklet stuff -- people did the best they could -- lots of strong feelings on all sides. If there was any conspiratorial thing going, it had to be a pretty minor part. People had very strong feelings about it, but there were good arguments either way, and most people did the very best they could. There was a lot of discussion, and a lot of listening to all points of view. That happens sometimes. Many of us didn't like the way it turned out with the booklets coming much later, but for many who hashed this out, it was not a conspiratorial or undemocratic result. You were at the Pacifica National Board meeting in Berkeley where the PNB (Pacifica National Board) opened up discussion groups with any humans attending. (At least I know you were there part of the time -- I was there for that part). It was a good thing to do. It didn't turn out the way almost anyone wanted, but not for lack of effort and goodwill.

Virginia, we went through this same struggle in 2004, when NES Kenny Mostern and ED Dan ( I will stop Director's Inspections at any cost) Coughlin tried to send the ballots out without the booklets. I organized a movement to demand the booklets and we succeeded. Later there was even a battle over sending them 3rd class and hope that they arrive on time and sending them first class and know that they will arrive on time. The PNB finally voted for first class postage. Most of the arguments against first class postage and sending the booklets were made by those that also advocate getting ride of elections!!!!

So there are "two sides" on this issues just like there were two sides on women's voting rights and two sides on slavery and Jim Crow etc. And in all of these issues there is only one true progressive position!

52% of the voters voting to treat gays and lesbians unfairly does not make it right. Judge Walker's ruling, 138 pages, destroys any "other side" if you believe in equal protections and due process as protected by our Constitution. And if you believe that your interpretation of the Bible should supersede our Constitution then there is a "second" opinion. There was the flat earth society and the Catholic Church punishing scientists for discovering the truth about our solar system. There was never really two valid opinions on those issues either.

If you believe in people before corporate profits are there good arguments on both side of the health care for all debate? I say NO. There can be honest differences on how to do it and in time those will be resolved in practice.

Is there any person who truly believes in peace and social justice who thinks its alright for one country to occupy another country that didn't attack it? Many "liberals" in Congress vacillate on such issues.

A main aspect of obtaining peace and social justice is analyzing social issues and taking positions and attempting to implement them through political movements.

Our anti-intellectual society and the "new age" "everything is everything and we can each have our individual truths", unfortunately makes it hard for people to study a social issue and come to a conclusion based on progressive principles. This is one of the reasons that the movement for Peace and Social Justice is so weak. Another reason is that we have people putting their personal agendas above the Mission and they always have "reasons" for their actions, which if properly analyzed under progressive principles, evaporate.

Virginia I know you are well intended and yet your arguments, like the one above, muddy the waters, reinforce the confusion, and inadvertently give support to the anti-election CLers and those "on our side" who are primarily in it for their own advancement and not the Mission.

'If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them.'
Paul Wellstone

Giving cover to obviously backward positions on democracy and "inclusive elections", by agreeing that there are "good reasons" for each side is effectively not fighting hard enough and conceding when we must stand up for the truth and progressive principles.

Despite Phelp's claim to have lead a great movement for more expensive postage, one must note that the ballots continued to be mailed using the nonprofit bulk mailing rate in all successive elections in 2006, 2007 and in 2009, when the democratic forces were successful in winning the election against Concerned Listeners.

(Books may be downloaded as a PDF file at http://www.pacificaelections2010.org).

"Later there was even a battle over sending them 3rd class and hope that they arrive on time and sending them first class and know that they will arrive on time. The PNB finally voted for first class postage. "


If you notice I never said that I led a movement to get first class postage. See quote above. That was done by other folks. All I did was report history. What I did in 2004 was rally folks to make sure that the election was inclusive in that every voter received the candidate statements. I guess the responder needed to attack me on some made up issue since she/he couldn't find anything substantive to attack with.

It is really sad that this is the type of response to political debates that some folks think belong in the Pacifica struggle.

Now there is a movement waiting to happen. Let's have a demonstration in front of KPFA on Saturday, Sept 11 10 - 11 before the LSB meeting. Bring your signs:
"Free First Class Mail" *
"Pompous Ass Patrol"
"Richard Phelps Stop Picking on Women!"
"KPFA Si! Phelps No!"
"Neighbors Against Phelps Lawsuits"
"Disengage now. We'll show you how!"

*Note: Spelling is not MALE
Hey, hey, hoo, hoo, Richard Phelps has gotta go . . .

It never fails, when they can't deal with a fact, they personally attack, anonymously.

I write a substantive criticism of wishy washy politics advocated by people that use the Pacifica arena for their own personal goals ignoring the Mission, and how it is damaging to the peace and social justice movement and this is the response?

How sad.

Phelps gets it right. Rosenberg's attitude is either insensitive or worse unaware as it concerns the exclusivity of strictly online voting and therefore representation denied by virtue of computer accessibility or the lack thereof. This dismissive attitude, indicative of a privileged mindset ignores a clear need for standard voting procedures and informational mailings that will afford larger access by a much needed wide audience of racially and financially diverse listeners.

Whoever does not know or care about this can not be considered a viable candidate, sensitive to and capable of fairly representing the concerns of ALL KPFA subscribers. Vote IndyBay yes, but choose carefully among their slate of candidates. Check out the Justice slate as well. "ConListeners Save KPFA for themselves, their friends and relatives" is another slate worthy of serious review.

Phelps is consistently for the people, read all of his written word, then read Rosenberg, the difference is subtle but there. Research and decide for yourselves, if you love KPFA, you invest time and money.

Of course those who have computers will access this information more easily than those who must use school, work or otherwise struggle for computer accessibility. Sometimes poverty, disabilities and other factors force you to work harder to stay in the information loop than perhaps some others. Right Tracy? But then, who cares?

Exactly.