Contacts: R. Paul Martin (Chief Steward) rpm@glib.com
Sharan Harper (Shop Steward)
Errol Maitland (Shop Steward)
Bruce Klipple (Union Representative) klipbus@enter.net
October 26, 1999
On Wednesday October 27, 1999, starting at 1:00 PM, Paid and Unpaid Staff from WBAI-FM will hold a demonstration picket line outside 120 Wall St., site of the progressive radio station's offices and studios.
The purpose of the demonstration will be to protest a change in by laws of the Pacifica Foundation, which owns WBAI. The new by laws removed community participation in the governance of the Pacifica Foundation and created a self selecting Governance Board which is answerable to no one.
Since this change, the Pacifica National Board has locked out the Staff of sister station KPFA for three weeks, violated FCC rules regarding broadcasting and admitted to having spent almost half a million dollars on armed guards and public relations firms to assist in the KPFA lockout. One Pacifica National Board member has also said that the Board has discussed the sale of KPFA or WBAI, and it is known that a number of Board members favor such a sale. The Pacifica National Board will be meeting in Houston this weekend.
The WBAI Staff is also demanding an end to Management's efforts at busting the WBAI and KPFA Unions. WBAI Management is trying to convert Union jobs into Management jobs and is spending an unknown amount of money on lawyers in an attempt to bust the Union any way they can.
This is part of a week of actions undertaken by those opposed to the ruinous decisions made by the Pacifica National Board since the by laws change.
Designated Union spokespersons will be available to the press during this action.
For more information:
http://www.media-alliance.org/
http://www.radio4all.org/freepacifica/
http://www.glib.com/union.html
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