The motions on the floor, left over from the last meeting, were postponed to the next meeting.

After months of work Roger Manning was able to set up the bylaws mandated Town Hall meeting. The theme was “The Role of The Arts at WBAI During Wartime.” It was preceded by some drama: although the meeting was approved by the LSB a committee tried to cancel it, an announcement on WBAI's air said it was canceled, and the meeting space was pulled out from under it 2 days before the event. All this sabotage from faction members.

I was unable to attend, but attendees have adjudged this Town Hall meeting a great success.

This teleconference meeting discussed WBAI's financial situation a little. Pacifica Management is coming in to look at the finances.

The PNB also passed a motion that prohibits Pacifica and its stations from entering into any agreements that attempt to, “interfere with or restrict the right or ability of the Local Station Boards to screen and select a pool of candidates from which the station General Manager and Program Director shall be hired” or “interfere with or restrict the right or ability of the Local Station Board to conduct written evaluations of the Station General Manager and Program Director” or “interfere with or restrict the rights of the Foundation members -- including union and collective bargaining unit members ... including the rights of members to the membership address list” or “restrict the ability or right of the Board of Directors or Local Station Board to carry out their duties and responsibilities under the bylaws.”

All of these are WBAI issues and the PNB has

We had neither audio nor guards at this meeting, but we survived. After we spent a little less than half an hour fighting over the agenda and agreeing to meet next at a school way out in Queens we heard a presentation about the Pacifica affiliates from Ursula Rudenberg.

The Pacifica affiliates program is a lot healthier than it had been and is largely recovering from the damage done to it by the old hijacker PNB. And some of affiliates might like to air your radio work. Ms. Rudenberg built the Pacifica Audioport system and urged producers to use it.

A report on the PNB meeting emphasized that the PNB is trying to do an evaluation of the Executive Director. The motions passed at the PNB teleconference meeting were discussed by LSB members and the public in a very predictable way.

The LSB went into a Committee of the Whole to discuss the GMSS issue again. Amid the posturing there were a couple of indications of flexibility about this issue. And flexibility sure is needed.

The ad hoc committee that met with AFTRA and USOC reported that some faction members showed up purporting to have been delegated to go to the meeting by Unpaid Staff. In the end, only faction members were there claiming to represent the WBAI Unpaid Staff. AFTRA reps were also there.

The LSB voted that there should be Union representation on the GMSS, and the specific motions were tabled for the next meeting.

A motion suggesting to the Executive Director of Pacifica that the WBAI Business Manager, who is a Paid Staff member, be Interim General Manager as of January 1, 2005, when the current General Manager leaves, will be voted on at the next LSB meeting.

And, finally, remember to vote in this LSB election!

All labor donated by and printing paid for by R. Paul Martin.