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KPFA Budget Crisis Forces Staff Reduction
Pacifica Foundation radio station KPFA 94.1 FM is regretfully reducing its paid workforce from 44 to 35 full- and part-time employees, in order to balance income with expenditures for the fiscal year.
KPFA BUDGET CRISIS FORCES STAFF REDUCTION
For Immediate Release: Date: November 14, 2010
Contact: Arlene Engelhardt, Executive Director (510) 849-2590, ext. 208, (510) 402-9880 (cell)
LaVarn Williams, Chief Financial Officer (510) 849-2590, ext. 204
KPFA BUDGET CRISIS FORCES STAFF REDUCTION
Pacifica Foundation radio station KPFA 94.1 FM is regretfully reducing its paid workforce from 44 to 35 full- and part-time employees, in order to balance income with expenditures for the fiscal year.
Founded in 1949, KPFA is the first listener-sponsored radio station in the country, but like many other community institutions, it has suffered a serious downturn in donations over the past few years. During Fiscal Year 2009, the station spent almost $575,000 more than it took in. In the fiscal year that ended September 30, KPFA spent $480,000 more than it took in.
Seven employees volunteered to take a layoff package, but it was unfortunately necessary to lay off two employees, the hosts of the Morning Show. The involuntary layoffs were carried out under the seniority provisions of the labor-management contract Pacifica Foundation has with its union, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), with consideration given to crucial positions and special skills.
Reducing KPFA’s workforce from approximately 29.75 full-time equivalents (FTEs) to approximately 25.3 FTEs will cut station personnel expenses by about $320,000 over the remainder of this fiscal year, resulting in a balanced budget.
KPFA will continue to offer a locally produced Morning Show, and its new line-up will be announced shortly. The Morning Show’s focus on local community news and cultural affairs will continue.
KPFA’s staff is represented by the Communications Workers of America Local 9415, which has filed a complaint with the NLRB, alleging violations of union rights. Pacifica believes that certain union members have engaged in violations of the union contract, and is considering what legal action it may need to take.
Pacifica’s policy is to negotiate employment disagreements amicably and as the law requires, in good faith. Pacifica hopes that KPFA can come together and focus on its mission to foster peace and social justice and to provide progressive news during these distressing political and economic times.
http://pacifica.org/policy/kpfa-budget-crisis-forces-staff-reduction.html
For Immediate Release: Date: November 14, 2010
Contact: Arlene Engelhardt, Executive Director (510) 849-2590, ext. 208, (510) 402-9880 (cell)
LaVarn Williams, Chief Financial Officer (510) 849-2590, ext. 204
KPFA BUDGET CRISIS FORCES STAFF REDUCTION
Pacifica Foundation radio station KPFA 94.1 FM is regretfully reducing its paid workforce from 44 to 35 full- and part-time employees, in order to balance income with expenditures for the fiscal year.
Founded in 1949, KPFA is the first listener-sponsored radio station in the country, but like many other community institutions, it has suffered a serious downturn in donations over the past few years. During Fiscal Year 2009, the station spent almost $575,000 more than it took in. In the fiscal year that ended September 30, KPFA spent $480,000 more than it took in.
Seven employees volunteered to take a layoff package, but it was unfortunately necessary to lay off two employees, the hosts of the Morning Show. The involuntary layoffs were carried out under the seniority provisions of the labor-management contract Pacifica Foundation has with its union, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), with consideration given to crucial positions and special skills.
Reducing KPFA’s workforce from approximately 29.75 full-time equivalents (FTEs) to approximately 25.3 FTEs will cut station personnel expenses by about $320,000 over the remainder of this fiscal year, resulting in a balanced budget.
KPFA will continue to offer a locally produced Morning Show, and its new line-up will be announced shortly. The Morning Show’s focus on local community news and cultural affairs will continue.
KPFA’s staff is represented by the Communications Workers of America Local 9415, which has filed a complaint with the NLRB, alleging violations of union rights. Pacifica believes that certain union members have engaged in violations of the union contract, and is considering what legal action it may need to take.
Pacifica’s policy is to negotiate employment disagreements amicably and as the law requires, in good faith. Pacifica hopes that KPFA can come together and focus on its mission to foster peace and social justice and to provide progressive news during these distressing political and economic times.
http://pacifica.org/policy/kpfa-budget-crisis-forces-staff-reduction.html
For more information:
http://pacifica.org/policy/kpfa-budget-cri...
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This is the time of year I make my annual pledge to support KPFA. The $365 I donated last year was worth it, I thought, because even though I only listen to the Morning Show and a few weekend programs, it seemed that a dollar a day was a good investment in locally produced news and music programming.
The Pacifica decision to lay off the Morning Show staff was irresponsible. At the very least, a replacement program should have been in place before taking the Morning Show off the air. But all the excuses I've heard and read about saving money by laying off the staff that raises the most money for the station just don't hold water.
I'm a longtime listener and supporter of Pacifica radio. I was a teenager in the 60s down in the LA area, and volunteered at the Renaissance Faire to raise funds for KPFK. So for about a minute, hearing KPFK programming was a little bit nostalgic.
But for me, the decision to fire the Morning Show staff has ruined my KPFA experience. Until the staff is returned and the Morning Show is back on the air, I'm withholding my pledge.
The Pacifica decision to lay off the Morning Show staff was irresponsible. At the very least, a replacement program should have been in place before taking the Morning Show off the air. But all the excuses I've heard and read about saving money by laying off the staff that raises the most money for the station just don't hold water.
I'm a longtime listener and supporter of Pacifica radio. I was a teenager in the 60s down in the LA area, and volunteered at the Renaissance Faire to raise funds for KPFK. So for about a minute, hearing KPFK programming was a little bit nostalgic.
But for me, the decision to fire the Morning Show staff has ruined my KPFA experience. Until the staff is returned and the Morning Show is back on the air, I'm withholding my pledge.
The alternative to laying off some people was to close the station, as Ms. Englehardt has stated. She also stated correctly that the first thing any entity must do according to federal law is pay the paid employees. This was not possible on Sept 15, 2010, and KPFA had to obtain money from other stations to do that. Since you are so anxious to contribute a large sum of money, you must make enough to itemize deductions on your income tax form, unlike most of us. Why don't you pay for paid staff to have their talking heads show in the morning, and that includes salary and benefits and the entire phone bill? Until then, hopefully KPFA will do community outreach to all the workingclass communities, mostly immigrant now, in the 9 counties of the Bay Area, to provide 9 counties of local news bureaus to provide news in the morning. What we are getting from Los Angeles now, also paid for by subscribers as they are paid employees of Pacifica, the same as the Morning Show was, is about the same racialized, pro-Democratic Party pabulum as we had from the local Morning Show. It might interest you to know that Los Angeles is part of the same state as the San Francisco Bay Area, and it is Southern California, where 2/3 of the state's population live, who decide statewide elections in terms of state officeholders and state propositions. This writer is for local programming, but until then, it does not hurt all of us to hear how the majority of Californians view things from paid Pacifica employees.
Art, someone is just trying to conflate saving ones job with saving KPFA.
I have been a KPFA contributor for over 10 years because I value local programming. No more! When people work they should be paid.
There's plenty of ways to produce a balanced budget without cutting the show that raised the most money at the station.
You can rant about how the station doesn't match your political views and is 'too Democratic' (a charge that only occurs in CA). but this is a financial issue.
Local management provided a budget with several other cuts besides layoffs, those cuts together were twice the amount saved than the salaries of the Morning Show. Pacifica rejected those cuts and then decided to cut the Morning Show instead. Cutting the Morning Show was completely unnecessary. If they paid taxes and rent for their building, and incorporate other cuts, the cuts wouldn't be needed.
Heck, Both Arlene Engelhardt and Lavarn Williams make about $90,000/yr while local management makes about $60,000/yr. They are asking people to take voluntary layoffs or reduction in hours. If they reduced their salaries to make local management makes, that would save $60,000 or half the Morning Show staff.
Cutting the Morning Show could make the financial crisis worse
The Morning Show brought in more money that any other show. It brought in 3 times the amount of the salary and benefits of the staff.
So unless you believe that just anyone can walk in and raise that kind of money, you are going to hit a shortfall in fundraising this year. (and if anyone can raise that amount of money, why isn't every show doing that ?).
If you are in a financial crisis, you should not cut your best show and have no plan on what to replace it with and call that a savings.
You can rant about how the station doesn't match your political views and is 'too Democratic' (a charge that only occurs in CA). but this is a financial issue.
Local management provided a budget with several other cuts besides layoffs, those cuts together were twice the amount saved than the salaries of the Morning Show. Pacifica rejected those cuts and then decided to cut the Morning Show instead. Cutting the Morning Show was completely unnecessary. If they paid taxes and rent for their building, and incorporate other cuts, the cuts wouldn't be needed.
Heck, Both Arlene Engelhardt and Lavarn Williams make about $90,000/yr while local management makes about $60,000/yr. They are asking people to take voluntary layoffs or reduction in hours. If they reduced their salaries to make local management makes, that would save $60,000 or half the Morning Show staff.
Cutting the Morning Show could make the financial crisis worse
The Morning Show brought in more money that any other show. It brought in 3 times the amount of the salary and benefits of the staff.
So unless you believe that just anyone can walk in and raise that kind of money, you are going to hit a shortfall in fundraising this year. (and if anyone can raise that amount of money, why isn't every show doing that ?).
If you are in a financial crisis, you should not cut your best show and have no plan on what to replace it with and call that a savings.
A commute time show, and two hours at that, better bring in money.
Whether the Morning Show is the best show or not, it brought in money because it is a two hour commute time show.
Whether the Morning Show is the best show or not, it brought in money because it is a two hour commute time show.
And all morning shows do best during morning drive time.
Ask any public broadcast outlet.
Lest we go green, lessen our dependency on automobiles: so goes the audience.
Ask any public broadcast outlet.
Lest we go green, lessen our dependency on automobiles: so goes the audience.
"There's plenty of ways to produce a balanced budget without cutting the show that raised the most money at the station"
The only two ways to produce a balanced budget are to either make more money or spend less than you are spending. The station added 5 more fundraising days for this budgetary year and let go 9 staff people - 7 voluntarily and 2 involuntarily.
"You can rant about how the station doesn't match your political views and is 'too Democratic' (a charge that only occurs in CA). but this is a financial issue"
Yes it is.
"Local management provided a budget with several other cuts besides layoffs, those cuts together were twice the amount saved than the salaries of the Morning Show"
The worker budget was untenable. The cuts to health insurance benefits and voluntary salary reductions via Calworks required employer subsidies for differential rates of pay and/or benefits. The rest of the kpfa worker proposals shifted deficits from one unit of the 501c-3 to another. Saying you could have kept employees by failing to pay the insurance bill is not sane. Both obligations need to be paid.
"Pacifica rejected those cuts and then decided to cut the Morning Show instead. Cutting the Morning Show was completely unnecessary. If they paid taxes and rent for their building, and incorporate other cuts, the cuts wouldn't be needed"
It was necessary to reduce expenses by $320,000 and (hopefully) increase revenue by $175,000 by adding more fundraising days and an extra direct mailing. The KPFA deficit for last year was about $475,000. The business of charging the parent foundation rent was projected to save about $20,000. Not enough for one half-time job, much less 9 positions.
"Both Arlene Engelhardt and Lavarn Williams make about $90,000/yr while local management makes about $60,000/yr. They are asking people to take voluntary layoffs or reduction in hours. If they reduced their salaries to make local management makes, that would save $60,000 or half the Morning Show staff"
That's not what local management makes.
"The Morning Show brought in more money that any other show. It brought in 3 times the amount of the salary and benefits of the staff"
If you had a union contract that said "employees are laid off based on the amount of money that is raised during the time slot they occupy with layoffs beginning with the employees whose time slot raises the least money per hour" than that would be a valid argument.
The only two ways to produce a balanced budget are to either make more money or spend less than you are spending. The station added 5 more fundraising days for this budgetary year and let go 9 staff people - 7 voluntarily and 2 involuntarily.
"You can rant about how the station doesn't match your political views and is 'too Democratic' (a charge that only occurs in CA). but this is a financial issue"
Yes it is.
"Local management provided a budget with several other cuts besides layoffs, those cuts together were twice the amount saved than the salaries of the Morning Show"
The worker budget was untenable. The cuts to health insurance benefits and voluntary salary reductions via Calworks required employer subsidies for differential rates of pay and/or benefits. The rest of the kpfa worker proposals shifted deficits from one unit of the 501c-3 to another. Saying you could have kept employees by failing to pay the insurance bill is not sane. Both obligations need to be paid.
"Pacifica rejected those cuts and then decided to cut the Morning Show instead. Cutting the Morning Show was completely unnecessary. If they paid taxes and rent for their building, and incorporate other cuts, the cuts wouldn't be needed"
It was necessary to reduce expenses by $320,000 and (hopefully) increase revenue by $175,000 by adding more fundraising days and an extra direct mailing. The KPFA deficit for last year was about $475,000. The business of charging the parent foundation rent was projected to save about $20,000. Not enough for one half-time job, much less 9 positions.
"Both Arlene Engelhardt and Lavarn Williams make about $90,000/yr while local management makes about $60,000/yr. They are asking people to take voluntary layoffs or reduction in hours. If they reduced their salaries to make local management makes, that would save $60,000 or half the Morning Show staff"
That's not what local management makes.
"The Morning Show brought in more money that any other show. It brought in 3 times the amount of the salary and benefits of the staff"
If you had a union contract that said "employees are laid off based on the amount of money that is raised during the time slot they occupy with layoffs beginning with the employees whose time slot raises the least money per hour" than that would be a valid argument.
When is Democracy Now! going to be moved to 7 am, as was voted by the Program Council and the Local Station Board 6 years ago? The move was never made because of obstruction by a dominant faction of the staff that included then Morning Show hosts Philip Maldari and Kris Welch and, later, their replacements. Now that those people have been removed anyway, why not move DN! to 7 am?
For more information:
http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/65411
Tracy is clearly the new anonymous...hehe!
1. Let's make sure we're getting our terms correct. The reason "Democratic" is capitalized is because it refers to the Democratic Party, not to the concept of democracy in general.
2. The Democratic Party happens to be the party in power in the United States. The President is a Democrat.
3. The politics of the Democratic Party are pro-war, pro-repression and pro-capitalism. I wish it weren't so, but those are facts.
4. Opposition to the Democratic Party from the left occurs thruout the country and the world. There are socialists, communists, anarchists and many others opposed to the Democratic Party in every state of the union and in every country in the world.
5. KPFA and the rest of Pacifica (it comes from the same root as pacifist) was founded with the idea of promoting peace and understanding between the peoples of the world. The leadership of the Democratic Party is against these ideals. Therefore anyone promoting the Democratic Party on KPFA is going against the the mission of Pacifica.
2. The Democratic Party happens to be the party in power in the United States. The President is a Democrat.
3. The politics of the Democratic Party are pro-war, pro-repression and pro-capitalism. I wish it weren't so, but those are facts.
4. Opposition to the Democratic Party from the left occurs thruout the country and the world. There are socialists, communists, anarchists and many others opposed to the Democratic Party in every state of the union and in every country in the world.
5. KPFA and the rest of Pacifica (it comes from the same root as pacifist) was founded with the idea of promoting peace and understanding between the peoples of the world. The leadership of the Democratic Party is against these ideals. Therefore anyone promoting the Democratic Party on KPFA is going against the the mission of Pacifica.
Support for KPFA is essential now. Read something besides the disinformation:
http://www.supportkpfa.org
http://www.supportkpfa.org
For more information:
http://www.supportkpfa.org
You can find the answers to many questions here. Please read something other than on-air disinformation by a few gatekeepers.
There WILL be a local morning show.
You can read all about it.
There WILL be a local morning show.
You can read all about it.
For more information:
http://www.supportkpfa.org
if the hosts of the Morning Show are, in effect, lower in seniority than those retained, and layoffs are supposed to take place on the basis of seniority under the CWA contract, isn't it rather odd that people would withhold financial support for the station unless management violated the contract and laid off others with more seniority?
if that is true, it sadly shows the extent to which even some of the listeners of KPFA have adopted a "me-first" neoliberal, anti-worker attitude that is clearly contrary to the Pacifica mission, and reflects the need for a fundamental reorganization of the institution, unless the objective is to exist as a more left version of NPR, because something very basic is not being communicated over the airwaves
and, is it really true that Aimee Allison supports the war in Afghanistan? Yikes! How long before we discover that the Pentagon has successfully infiltrated Pacifica to put out pro war propaganda as it has done with CNN and NPR?
if that is true, it sadly shows the extent to which even some of the listeners of KPFA have adopted a "me-first" neoliberal, anti-worker attitude that is clearly contrary to the Pacifica mission, and reflects the need for a fundamental reorganization of the institution, unless the objective is to exist as a more left version of NPR, because something very basic is not being communicated over the airwaves
and, is it really true that Aimee Allison supports the war in Afghanistan? Yikes! How long before we discover that the Pentagon has successfully infiltrated Pacifica to put out pro war propaganda as it has done with CNN and NPR?
For more information:
http://www.amleft.blogspot.com
As much as BET Brian Edwards Teacup and Save K-Mart for Democrats want it to be all about him and them, we know the issue and struggle for Pacifica/KPFA isn't new, didn't start with them and kpfaworker.org, and it's about so much more than the Life of Brian and The Morning Show.
As Adrienne Lauby says in her fine, illuminating commentary on the Friday 11/19 Pushing Limits program http://kpfa.org/archive/id/65459, we didn't organize and protest in (before/after) 1999 to save the station and Pacifica network "…. so KPFA could have a couple of celebrity hosts bragging about how much money they raise …The protest we held against armed guards and 24/7 piped in music are cheapened when the same sidewalks are used to champion this overblown cause …"
"The majority of staff, paid and unpaid, at KPFA have no say in what is posted on that website you hear promoted so heavily (kpfaworker.org) … most of the staff want enough paid positions to keep … daily tasks in order … produce regular programs … We want stable management policies. We do not want the same programs and hosts on air for decade after decade. We want training and integration so young people, people of color, volunteers of all kinds can bring new ideas and produce world changing radio. We want 90% less fighting and 90% more collaboration…"
"Can something this positive happen? What creature of power and grace could rise from the ashes of this sad public spectacle? … We still have a chance, we can strengthen Pacifica and haul this station back on the road, and the next chapter is already being written."
Many thanks to the beautiful, gifted Pushing Limits programmers - Adrienne, Eddy Yduarte, and all - for their clarity, courage and humor, and for helping preserve our collective dignity, sanity and hope. Same appreciation for last Monday's 11/15 Women's Magazine program hosts and guests (Arlene Englehardt, Maria Gilardin and Carol Spooner) http://kpfa.org/archive/id/65370.
Other independent KPFA programmers can and should get into it, although so far they've been mostly silent about these issues on-air, meanwhile organizing and rocking a volunteer/ people of color staff rally outside the station. As I understand it, they're reluctant to compromise their programs or face retaliation from the power clique hoodlums, spin masters and con artists, but we need to hear it from them.
I expect most listeners haven't been exposed to the mid weekday Women's show, the "asthmatic Amazon" Adrienne unedited, or the satirical "super megawatt Grover." Some of us have urged Pacifica ED Arlene Englehardt and CFO LaVarn Williams to preempt multiple time slots for clear, uninterrupted presentations/explanations. Without repeated, unbiased statements of facts and more creative representations of truth, including morning and evening prime times, the continuing core staff clique and CL/DP supporter disinformation campaign prevails, with the resulting divisiveness and damage to KPFA/Pacifica's credibility, listener support and finances. From the kpfaworker.org postings and their petition "I want my Morning Show back!" http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/kpfa-morning-show/, we see how they are misleading hundreds of supposedly educated, intelligent, progressive listeners. Fox News, Goebbels and (more to the point) Stalin couldn't do a better job.
As Adrienne Lauby says in her fine, illuminating commentary on the Friday 11/19 Pushing Limits program http://kpfa.org/archive/id/65459, we didn't organize and protest in (before/after) 1999 to save the station and Pacifica network "…. so KPFA could have a couple of celebrity hosts bragging about how much money they raise …The protest we held against armed guards and 24/7 piped in music are cheapened when the same sidewalks are used to champion this overblown cause …"
"The majority of staff, paid and unpaid, at KPFA have no say in what is posted on that website you hear promoted so heavily (kpfaworker.org) … most of the staff want enough paid positions to keep … daily tasks in order … produce regular programs … We want stable management policies. We do not want the same programs and hosts on air for decade after decade. We want training and integration so young people, people of color, volunteers of all kinds can bring new ideas and produce world changing radio. We want 90% less fighting and 90% more collaboration…"
"Can something this positive happen? What creature of power and grace could rise from the ashes of this sad public spectacle? … We still have a chance, we can strengthen Pacifica and haul this station back on the road, and the next chapter is already being written."
Many thanks to the beautiful, gifted Pushing Limits programmers - Adrienne, Eddy Yduarte, and all - for their clarity, courage and humor, and for helping preserve our collective dignity, sanity and hope. Same appreciation for last Monday's 11/15 Women's Magazine program hosts and guests (Arlene Englehardt, Maria Gilardin and Carol Spooner) http://kpfa.org/archive/id/65370.
Other independent KPFA programmers can and should get into it, although so far they've been mostly silent about these issues on-air, meanwhile organizing and rocking a volunteer/ people of color staff rally outside the station. As I understand it, they're reluctant to compromise their programs or face retaliation from the power clique hoodlums, spin masters and con artists, but we need to hear it from them.
I expect most listeners haven't been exposed to the mid weekday Women's show, the "asthmatic Amazon" Adrienne unedited, or the satirical "super megawatt Grover." Some of us have urged Pacifica ED Arlene Englehardt and CFO LaVarn Williams to preempt multiple time slots for clear, uninterrupted presentations/explanations. Without repeated, unbiased statements of facts and more creative representations of truth, including morning and evening prime times, the continuing core staff clique and CL/DP supporter disinformation campaign prevails, with the resulting divisiveness and damage to KPFA/Pacifica's credibility, listener support and finances. From the kpfaworker.org postings and their petition "I want my Morning Show back!" http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/kpfa-morning-show/, we see how they are misleading hundreds of supposedly educated, intelligent, progressive listeners. Fox News, Goebbels and (more to the point) Stalin couldn't do a better job.
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