Steve Freedkin (repost)
Notes from 12/29 Board meeting
Sun Dec 30 10:30:05 2001
Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 14:08:29 -0800
From: Steve Freedkin--Progressive Portal
Subject: Notes from Pacifica Interim National Board Meeting 12/29/2001
Some notes from the meeting of the Pacifica Interim Board, 12/29/2001 Provided by Progressive Portal, http://www.progressiveportal.org
These notes can also be read on the Web at: http://www.progressiveportal.com/letters/pacifica/interim-board/board-notes.html
SUMMARY
=======
Many of the votes were largely along "party lines" -- i.e., the former board majority plus Goodman (KPFT-Houston LAB) voted together, or abstained, and the former board majority plus the rest of the LAB (station Local Advisory Board) representatives voted together. Calculated this way, a straight "party line" vote would be 9 to 6, with the former minority plus four LABs having the majority. The settlement agreement requires all major decisions to have at least one vote from each of the three factions (former majority, former minority, and LAB), or a two-thirds majority.
A chair and vice chair were elected, but it was discovered that three members (Barry, Lee, Gregory) were not able to get onto the conference call, so the elections were re-done after those three were included, approx. 12:30 p.m. EST.
BOARD OFFICERS ELECTED
======================
Elected Chair: Leslie Cagan (no other nominee) Elected Treasurer: Jabari Zakiya (vs. Wendell Johns)
Date and place of next meeting: Jan. 11-13, 2001 (vs. Jan. 25-27), in New York (vs. DC).
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED ===============================================
Elected a committee to conduct search for an Executive Director (seven members, at least two from each Board faction, at least one from each signal area)
* Fertig, Los Angeles, LAB
* Lee, DC, former board majority
* Spooner, Berkeley, LAB
* Barry, DC, former board majority
* Allen, Houston, former board minority
* Cagan, New York, former board minority
* LaForest, New York, LAB
Elected chair of the committee: Barry (no other nominations)
Rest of meeting: Lee attempted to table the rest of the agenda until the next meeting. Motion failed 9-6.
WBAI COMMITTEE, MORATORIUM ON BANNINGS/FIRINGS: 9-6 VOTE MEANS DECISION GOES TO THE JUDGE ===============================================
Motion by Spooner to create a committee to deal with WBAI concerns, including the three NY members of the Pacifica interim board plus one other, as well as up to five members selected by the WBAI LAB; and that no one can be hired, fired, or suspended without express approval of the committee.
[Spooner mentioned that hundreds of people sent emails last night demanding some immediate action.]
Committee would investigate suspensions and firings and be able to begin "taking corrective action" as necessary on the matters facing the station, reporting back to the national board. After much discussion about appropriate authority for a committee, it was modified by Spooner to "recommend corrective action."
After extensive discussion about Robert's Rules, prompted by an ongoing tantrum from Lee, a vote was taken on the modified motion. Passed 9-6 but did not get a 2/3 or "balanced majority" (at least one vote from each faction) as required by the settlement agreement, so the judge will be asked to rule as to whether it is adopted. It will be submitted to the judge on Monday.
ATTEMPT TO ADJOURN MEETING FAILS
================================
Before Democracy Now! discussion, gag rule lifting, and litigation attorneys issues, the former board majority moved to adjourn. Failed 9-6.
DEMOCRACY NOW! RETURNED TO THE AIRWAVES
=======================================
Cagan read a memo from Amy Goodman. Wants to return to Pacifica airwaves from its current studios, with back pay (for 4 people: Amy Goodman, 2 producers, engineer) to August 13. Democracy Now! becomes a nonprofit entity producing the program for Pacifica and others. Willing to return to the airwaves with a board commitment to resolving independent contract and other outstanding grievances. Once contract is finalized, banned and fired are returned to WBAI, and process to resolve the strike of Pacifica news stringers [independent reporters] is established, will enthusiastically participate in fundraising. Stations could negotiate individually whether to carry 1 hour or 2 hours, as long as DN! continues to produce 2 hours.
Ferguson objected to DN! "dictating" terms and said replacement programming is more popular (has more ratings) than DN! Barry: They walked out; why should we pay back pay? Fertig: I practice employment law, the facts they claim could justify back pay.
[Zakiya emphasized 250+ emails he has received since yesterday demanding return of DN!]
Barry, Ferguson want to sever out the issue of back pay.
Motion to sever the back pay from the rest of the motion failed 5-9, with Johns not present and the other former "majority faction" (including Goodman from KPFT-LAB) voting yes (to sever out the back-pay). Had it passed, this would have meant the back pay was to be negotiated later.
DEMOCRACY NOW! resolution passed 10-5 with a "yes" vote from Dick Gregory, and "no" from the rest of the former "majority faction" (including Goodman); Johns not present.
GAG RULE, ON-AIR DISCUSSION OF PACIFICA ISSUES: PASSES BY LESS THAN REQUIRED AMOUNT, GOES TO JUDGE ==================================================
Fertig proposal: That gag rule on discussing Pacifica policy is ended, including for callers to call-in programs. If a programmer is sanctioned, including removal from the airwaves, the decision can be brought to a review committee of four national board members, and any sanction must be upheld by 3 out of 4 members of the review committee, when a person is judged to be seriously abusing the airwaves (e.g., personal insults, racist/sexist/abusive remarks, confidential personnel issues), with a public process for the decision. Stations mandated in conjunction with LAB to create three hours per week during prime drive-time of on-air programming to allow public to call in and discuss issues related to the lawsuit settlements. The settlement agreement is to be provided on the Web sites of the stations.
Passed 9-5, needed 10 or one vote from the former "majority," so will go to the judge for a decision; Johns not present.
TERMINATING THE MAJORITY'S ATTORNEYS:
PASSES BY LESS THAN REQUIRED AMOUNT, GOES TO JUDGE ==================================================
Spooner proposes: Terminating law firms hired to represent Pacifica by the former Board majority. Means each side would have to hire its own attorneys but the foundation is neutral.
Passed by 9-5, same issue as previous resolution.
LEE moved to adjourn again; motion failed.
FERTIG: STATION MANAGERS REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE NEXT NATIONAL BOARD MEETING IN NEW YORK, PREPARED TO REPORT ON CONDITIONS OF THEIR STATIONS
=================================================
Fertig proposed to require station managers to report on the state of their stations (financial, infrastructure, Arbitron ratings) and put a report in the Board packet .
Ferguson moved to adjourn. Motion failed, same vote as before.
Various members discussed specifics they would like the station managers to report to the national board, and noted that they may have only a limited amount of information ready to report within two weeks.
Motion passed with former majority faction members Barry, Goodman, and maybe Gregory (hard to hear) voting yes.
Meeting adjourned.
--
MissInsideOut
Time to Regroup. Some thoughts on the iPNB mtg.
Sun Dec 30 11:19:07 2001
We were warned and I think some of us or many of us were prepared for the mixed bag that can be ascscribed to Saturday's iPNB mtg. Yet, I thought it was useful in sizing up the new forces on the board.
After a somewhat shakey-and for me, suspect- start, the meeting finally took shape and I would say that overall, we had taken some small steps towards democratic change in the Pacifica network. BTW, when I say suspect, it just seemed strange to me that Bert Lee's claim [see comments from WBAI message board below] that someone told him the meeting was cancelled, was not challenged by some board members as to who told them that the meeting had been cancelled. Unless I missed something, that whole thing seemed a bit contrived. They were allowed to set the tone of the meeting.
For a few minutes I thought that the absence of Wendell Johns, Bert Lee and Marion Barry was too good too be true. And it was. Bert Lee's gruff attitude towards the chair and the subsequent voting, reflected their game plan of agreeing on the elected officers while stymying any other votes on "policy" issues so that it is either defeated by the "balanced majority" rule or sent to the judge for arbitration.
At the same time, we did win the key positions of Chair, Secretary and treasurer. We also won on the convening of the next board meeting in two weeks in NYC.
This is key because the bite was taken out of the resolution to create a committee to deal with the situation at WBAI. It will become incumbent to let this new board know in no uncertain terms of that we want our station handed back to us. The demands of the local advisory board must be formally presented to the iPNB. At the same time, the new committee has its' work cut out for them. They will have do an extensive investigation of the station in less than two weeks. The committee is one of those issues to go before the judge this week and probably won't be decided until Wednesday at the earliest-by the way, this also goes for the resolution on the gag rule.
Assuming that the judge rules in favor of the resolution, the committee will have to draft resolutions to be presented to the iPNB so a vote can be taken on them. Other NYC listener groups and individuals should be encouraged to apply as much pressure to the board as possible.
The imminent return of Democracy Now with back pay is also a small victory, although now it presents some other problems. Adding pressure to the board. DN will not fundraise until the banned and fired are returned to WBAI and the strike by PNN stringers is settled.
For those of us expecting DN to return on Monday to BAI, I don't know if that's going to happen.
Daughtry and other managers have been ordered to prepare reports for the next iPNB. I would hope with the work of Jabari, the WBAI committee and Daughtry's report, we'll be able to get a clearer financial picture of what has been going on locally and nationally.
For me the litmus test of this first meetings were the issues of WBAI and the gag rule. I mean I find it so strange in giving someone like Marion Barry and the irrascible Bert Lee any legitimacy but that is the way of compromise. It was a start. Let's continue to struggle in good faith- which I'm not convinced that the former majority is- to return Pacifica back to its' rightful owners, the listener-sponsors.
You did miss something re Lee's claim he was
told meeting was cancelled.
Sun Dec 30 11:40:44 2001
He was thoroughly queried; provided the number he called, etc., and the resulting concensus was that there may have been an error on AT&T's end. Leslie said they would make inquiries to the company and try to get some answers. Whatever the reason, he used the same number again and got through...much ado about nothing, imo. In light of the delaying tactics Lee continued to employ, the incident became increasingly suspect to me. But, in the end, the meeting dragged on for just under 5 hours...poetic justice, I call it.