SAG-AFTRA labor union involved in KPFK mis-doings. Reposted more info.

 Aug 31 2015 

as the radio stations go Under Water, trying to find a nook,or a hiding place for miscreants, and hiding in deep waters what else is being mis-managed, there is another yet website that provides some needed info...see excerpts below.
                                                                                      

©        photo credit-  by photosbyalexandria.com 

                                                
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Some edited portions related to KPFK are reproduced here from :  

http://pacificainexile.org/archives/1142

“On Thursday, the SAG-AFTRA labor union filed a demand for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association. The union stated to its members their position that Pacifica is in ongoing violation of the collective bargaining agreement. … Three of Pacifica’s  four unionized stations are represented by SAG-AFTRA, ….  

Pacifica is attempting to lay off three workers at KPFK (the webmaster, film club coordinator and a development assistant), reduce all other workers to 50% time for at least the next four months and “reorganize” the staff for the following budgetary year with new job descriptions and work schedules.   

This recording is from the staff meeting where Margy Wilkinson-appointed general manager Leslie Radford announced the layoffs and reductions to the workers. The layoffs were handled …by Radford, with one employee not finding out they were laid off until 4 days after the staff meeting, and incorrect job titles listed on layoff letters. 

The union also has taken umbrage at Pacifica’s suggestion that it authorize supplementary unemployment checks for still-employed union members, a program that PNB ….[at KPFA]  has used to supplement his own paycheck since …

Both [Gen’l Mgr] Radford and ED John Profitt [Exe Director of Pacifica] have stated they relied on advice from Bay Area attorney Dan Siegel regarding the implementation of the layoffs and work reductions at the KPFK division.

Siegel, along with former IED Margy Wlkinson, incorporated the KPFA Foundation clandestinely in 2013 to capture one or more of Pacifica’s broadcast licenses in the event of organizational breakup. 

SAG-AFTRA’s resort to litigation against Pacifica was probably abetted by Pacifica’s inability to present a coherent set of accounting records. 

On Tuesday night, the national finance committee made confused noises about an income statement, complete with 24 pie charts, presented by the controller that showed the KPFK unit with a $182,00 net profit for the current fiscal year and the 501c3 with a $959,000 net profit for the current fiscal year. You can listen to part of the meeting here. 

The gist of the confusing explanation offered, both at the meeting and in a series of emails that flew around the network afterwards, went something like this: “After the temporary KPFK bookkeeper was terminated for embezzling on or around August 13th, the former CFO Raul Salvador, now consulting, was sent in and then most, but not all, of the station’s April and May income was double-booked into the KPFK general ledger, income which had already been recorded before, presumably in April and May. The controller, formerly Salvador’s subordinate and seemingly now his boss, issued financial reports based on that ledger, whose accuracy he was unable to assess because no bank reconciliations had been performed at KPFK in the last year”.

On August 17th, GM Radford distributed a completely different KPFK financial statement to her local board, so the double-entries (if that’s what they are) can be attributed to the period between August 17 and August 24th. 

KPFK is reported to have paid $46,000 in the first 9 months of the year for temporary bookkeeping services. This sound clip features Leslie Radford telling station staff about the embezzling at KPFK.

snip

In the meantime, staff candidates not aligned with the majority faction, have experienced targeting … and KPFK staff candidate Ali Lexa picked as the only full-time KPFK employee to be immediately laid off. …. Lexa, the LA station’s webmaster, was the first place winner in KPFK’s staff elections in 2006 and 2009, and served on the Pacifica National Board for a year in 2012.

Another LA staff candidate, music director Maggie Le Pique, has had her position eliminated on paper in GM Radford’s 2016 staffing plan.       Radford was an ardent member of the Siegel-Brazon faction during her local and national board terms.

snip

In 2015, with KPFK’s 2014-2015 two year operating deficit (in whatever version of the financial statements you choose to believe in) at half of KPFA’s 2009-2010 two year operating deficit and the unpaid network services amount quite similar, there is not a peep out … about “sustainable budgets” and three year network services payback plans.    

Wilkinson’s appointment of factional cohort Leslie Radford as KPFK’s GM on her last day has depressed KPFK’s daily fund drive revenues by 33%, from $30,000/day to barely $20,000/day, directly exacerbating the station’s financial instability and in opposition to the stated objections of all but one of the LA station’s workers.

Pacifica in Exile readers may write to the board at pnb@pacifica.org.

For readers who may wish to do more, any donor to a California-based not for profit organization like Pacifica may file a complaint to the open file at the Registry of Charitable Trusts at the Office of the CA Attorney General. Pacifica’s case number is CT011303. The form and instructions for filing may be downloaded here. “

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Note: only those portions of the entire post relevant to KPFK mainly have been excerpted  to share here.   “snip” locates where large portions have been excluded.    While  “…” indicates some words were edited out. 

comments & foto    (c) 2015   mj