WBAI Local Station Board meeting
Wed., Dec. 8 – 7:00 p.m.
At The Commons, 388 Atlantic Avenue, bet. Bond & Nevins Streets in downtown Brooklyn.
Trains: A, C, G to Hoyt & Schmerhorn; F to Bergen Street; B, M, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic / Pacific. Buses: B63 or B65.
Come speak out in mandated Public Comment. Let the Board majority know they must end the support for arbitrary program changes and destruction of the Unpaid Staff union. Tell them they will be held to account for what they do and what they allow.
Background Information:
The new WBAI Local Station Board (LSB) will be seated at a 7pm meeting on Wednesday, December 8, 2010. Among those to be seated on Wednesday are Justice & Unity members Bernard White, Suzanne Adely, Fr. Lawrence Lucas, John Brinkley, and Ray Laforest (who collectively received 55% of the vote), as well as staff ally Bob Lederer. (They join continuing Justice & Unity listener board members Nia Bediako, Russell Dale, Sister Betty Dopson, and Nana Camille Yarbrough, as well as staff ally Daniel Vila.)
ACE members Carolyn Birden and staff allies Delphine Blue and Kathy Davis are still trying to retroactively change Pacifica’s Bylaws and nullify members’ votes for Bernard White who received more than 1.6 times the number of votes of the leading vote-getter on the ACE slate. (Attempts to steal an election and silence opponents is also happening at Pacifica’s oldest station. For more on those maneuvers, see www.kpfaworker.org .)
About a month ago, as the October fund drive came to a close, producers began receiving telephone calls from interim management informing them that their programs were moved and/or slashed and in cases like Louis Reyes Rivera’s “Perspective,” eliminated altogether. These changes were not discussed with the individuals affected or in the Program Council as required in staff contracts and the Pacifica Bylaws, however, at the previous LSB meeting, the ACE majority refused to approve a motion calling on management to freeze the suddenly-imposed program changes and properly consult with the staff. (More on this at www.wbaiworker.wordpress.com .)
At this time and in this place, it must be made clear to the Board that the practice of shutting down and disappearing those with whom they disagree will not be tolerated, and that the introduction of “Al Jazeera English” as a source of alternative information stands in stark contrast with the Pacifica network’s attempts to silence dissent within its stations.
Arbitrary, partisan and punitive treatment of staff who speak up must end. Bannings must be undone, programs must be restored and contracts honored.
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