June 2009
June 30, 2009
Congratulations to former NCEC Board member Matt Adams on the occasion of his being recognized by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for his work to increase pro bono representation of individuals pursuing immigration cases before the court.
Matt was presented with a certificate by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski at a ceremony held at the William Kenzo Nakamura U.S. Courthouse in Seattle. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reviews appeals of deportation decisions in a region stretching from Arizona to Alaska and including Washington State. However, because individuals facing deportation proceedings do not have a right to an attorney appointed by the government, many of them end up appearing before the federal court without representation.
Matt's letter of resignation was critical in bringing the crisis at KDNA to the public's attention. His presence on the NCEC board of Directors will be missed by all that care about community radio and immigrant rights.
Please see the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) website for more information.
La Lucha Por KDNA continua - The community speaks out. Here is a flier that listeners of KDNA are circulating.
June 29, 2009
We have added a chronology of events as we understand them: The Troubles - Background to the Nightmare
June 25, 2009
There was meeting of the KDNA Community Advisory Board Wednesday night (June 24th), and although there was no prior notice, word did get out and over twenty five people showed up. They all condemned the programming changes instituted by the new executive director. As soon as we get more details, we will post them here.
June 22, 2009 - The campesino is still silent
The strike may be over, but the causes that drove the staff to walk out are unchanged. The staff went back to work because management agreed to binding arbitration to resolve the dispute regarding the two workers that were unfairly terminated. The arbitration is still pending, so we don't know what is going to happen to those two workers. We do know though, and anyone listening to the station these days can easily confirm, that it has changed, on-air staff and volunteers that once spoke freely and easily are no longer free, saying the wrong thing will get them expelled.
The community that used to participate in regular live telephone call-in programs, is silenced. On the very rare occasion of a call-in show, like the "forum" the Board presided over several weeks ago, names, addresses and phone numbers are demanded before they are allowed to speak. And if they stray from praising the management of Maria Fernandaz and Jorge Lobos, it's 'click' and they are disconnected. That is if they were lucky enough to get passed Maria's "priority list" of shills. If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny.
Well, it is sad. KDNA has been the vehicle whereby people denied access to other media had an opportunity to express themselves, and, through the power of radio, be heard by their friends, their family, their community. The campesino is not some puffed up ego inflated chest pounding diskjocky telling the world how wonderful they are. The campesina we used to hear was the one that worked a 13 hour day, and would then call to ask if anyone knew where they needed workers the next day. La voz del campesino was her voice. And it will be again.
June 20, 2009
We have re-encoded the history videos to a higher quality. Please take a look at them.
June 17, 2009
Jorge Lobos comments regarding the end of a 26-day strike by KDNA staff are revealing. He claims "This is a good thing because we've run into a series of problems with the community, which has been badly informed." Lobos is partly right, there are "a series of problems." The community has problems with Lobos and his executive director Maria Fernandez not because they are "badly informed" but because the community does not agree with the disrespect and intimidation that led to a strike by KDNA staff. The community has a problem with the fact that major concerns outlined by former board member, Matt Adams have been ignored. And, they have a problem with being denied access to a station that has been part of their daily lives for 30 years.
In the same article Lobos pressed on, "what we need to do
now is get to work and demonstrate that we're good and capable of
delivering to our community all that we've been telling them we
can provide: Educational, useful information," as if this award-winning
station in partnership with many other community organizations has
not been doing so for 30 years. And, here lies another problem;
Radio KDNA has never been about "telling them we can provide"
it has been about respectfully listening, working with, building
relationships, and delivering on promises, and that isn't happening
now. It is Lobos and Fernandez who are "badly informed"
not the community.
June 16, 2009 - speaking truth to power
When KDNA operated out of an old condemned building it was a place of warmth, laughter and respect, filled with passion for radio and commitment to community service and advocacy. Always welcoming, It became a hub of community activity both on-air and off. The new Granger community center housing KDNA was to be a wonderful new beginning for the staff, listeners, and the organizations with whom KDNA had long-established relationships. Instead it has become a nightmare created by the Board of Directors of the Northwest Communities' Education Center and its Executive Director, Maria Fernandez. Through a combination of arrogance and ignorance, they flaunt their disdain for farm workers, the poor, those who have lacked educational opportunity and any who do not agree with their stance against fairness, opportunity and worker rights. The community is not welcomed to its "community" center. Radio KDNA membership composed of listeners, supporters and contributors to the station are being denied access to meeting rooms. KDNA's audience is mostly refused access to the airwaves and free speech is denied. If anyone dare speak their mind and disagree with the policies and practices of Fernandez and her board, the word is "hang up on them".
The Granger Community Center should have served as legacy to the man who raised the money to build it. Ricardo Garcia, one of the finest of human beings, dedicated a lifetime to helping others. The Granger Community Center and Radio KDNA were part of his gifts to community and his achievements. Yet, this respected and gentle 70-year old man who has lived the values of respect, compassion and honor is not allowed in station facilities and is banned from the airwaves he helped to create. This disrespectful act alone speaks volumes about Fernandez and board president Jorge Lobos. For three decades, KDNA in partnership with other nonprofit organizations, state and federal agencies, educational institutions and the business community, has offered award-winning radio programming and productions. Countless farm workers who got their start at KDNA went on to higher education and other employment. Some went to work at other radio stations or started their own businesses. KDNA has been a special and necessary part of the daily life of the Yakima Valley. Sadly under the leadership of Fernandez and the current NCEC Board a remarkable 30-year history of community service is being destroyed. Hopefully, they will be stopped before their legacy is fulfilled.
June 14, 2009
We sent an email out today to our contacts, telling them about the website, and the cause it is in support of. Please help us by spreading the word. If you would like to be added to our contacts, send us an email to SaveKdna.
If you would like to be included in the roster of Friends of KDNA, please send us a brief statement about your involvement or interest in KDNA. It would be good if you could include the number of years you have listened or been involved. Note, we will need a means to confirm that you are who you claim to be - the web is rife with pretenders and pranksters.
And, if you have a website, please consider posting a link to www.kdna.fm
June 13, 2009 - revisit the history and remember the founders
We have been putting some videos up in the history section the last couple of days. It seems the Board and Executive Director have lost touch with NCEC's and KDNA's mission, and we hope these videos will be a reminder of both what it is all about, and the incredible effort put forth by the people that built this organization. They are a reminder of what has been accomplished by dedicated staff. So when director Fernandez has failed to raise any money in the eleven months of her employment, and says it is because the radio programming isn't "good enough", or because the staff is "not accountable", we know she is just making excuses, and blaming others for her own inadequacies.
Some of the videos were posted on the original KDNA website we built back in 2000 and came from KDNA's 20th anniversary celebration. Hopefully we will have cause to celebrate again, and soon. (Note: We've had absolutely nothing to do with KDNA's current official website, although we have seen some of our old content reused without our consent - oh well.)
How about sending an email to the staff? Let them know that you are thinking of them during the difficult time of returning to work after a strike. We will forward your email to them safely.
June 11, 2009 - 26 day strike ends
Last night, after a 26 day strike, the NCEC/KDNA Board of Directors agreed to the staff's proposal that the fates of the two fired staff be settled by an independent arbitrator. The staff had proposed this two weeks ago (see Matt Adams letter), but the Board had rejected it with out consideration. The staff will return to work Monday June 15th. Hopefully this is an indication that the Board is ready to negotiate with and treat their staff with the respect they deserve. See news stories at What the media is saying
June 9, 2009
"If I didn't write it down, I didn't say it" - That's the kind of accountability that Maria Fernandez, NCEC Executive Director, models for the staff, and is apparently just dandy with the Board of Directors. It gives her the freedom to verbally intimidate and abuse the staff, and to defame the reputations and character of those that dedicated their lives to building a true community radio station. Of course this is a radio station, and though Fernandez may not realize it, radio is about the spoken word and recording equipment is everywhere, so she best beware of being caught in the trap of her own rhetoric.
Perhaps the staff should take the position "If its not written down, I can't hear it."
June 4, 2009 - Board member quits in frustration
Board Member Matt Adams resigned in protest of lack of action by KDNA Board to hold Executive Director Maria Fernandez accountable for failure to provide information that the Board has requested, for not performing assigned tasks, and deliberately attempting to deceive the Board, "In my opinion this has led to near disastrous consequences on both a financial front and also on policy level within the organization," wrote Adams.
In reference to the current labor strike by KDNA union staff, Adams stated, "I can no longer tolerate such a cavalier and ignorant approach from the ED... toward staff members-workers who have demonstrated years and years of sacrifice and selfless commitment towards this organization… it is beyond ignorance and foolishness to overlook the value of our dedicated staff."
Adams stated that the problems have been caused in part and exacerbated by the fact that Board President Lobos is continually in meetings with Fernandez but the reason for their frequent meetings is never communicated to the rest of the Board.
May 30th, 2009 - Membership Meeting
The KDNA Board under order from Board President Jorge Lobos abruptly walked out of a public meeting where KDNA's listeners and supporters had come to express concern about the harassment of KDNA staff and to inquire why their voices were no longer welcomed on the air. The Board's refusal to listen and failure to hold the annual on-air membership drive resulted in a community meeting on May 30th to work to resolve staff grievances and the strike.
