NDP Update, Thanks, Critical Legal Hearing Dec 29

It’s been a wild ride this past two years trying to bring Pacifica back to democracy. To be the creative network of stations envisioned by Lou Hill. A network for progressive voices throughout the United States and the world. With the 2022 elections coming, we need Pacifica more than ever. For that reason, we need your continued support more than ever and we’ll return to that later, but first, here’s an update on what’s been happening.

For a year and a half, we struggled against the entrenched management and National Board. They exploited every technicality and trick to stop us.

They changed the number of signatures for the Bylaws referendum. From 400 to 2,000. We got 3,000 of you to sign, and more kept signing afterwards.

Then they mounted a campaign of disinformation, distortion, and half-truths against the New Day Bylaws. They hampered our email send-outs to members. They ran on-air programs featuring all the mentioned forms of disinformation without affording our representatives the required equal time on air to respond. All this continues to this day!

Despite all this, current management failed, and enough members were able to discern the facts, namely that Pacifica would disappear if we did not change. Thousands of members voted in the largest turnout ever for a Pacifica election. New Day won the overall vote with a 55% to 45% margin.

We thank you for your support – for the thousands of you who voted YES for bylaws and governance reform to save Pacifica, for the many who emailed and called your fellow members, and for the hundreds of you who donated to help pay expenses for New Day Pacifica (NDP). If you haven’t donated lately, this is a great time to do so.

Donate to New Day Pacifica

But the struggle goes on. The entrenched interests continue to have Pacifica in their grip, even though they’ve shown they have no solutions to Pacifica’s problems, that threaten our stations’ very survival.

Why NDP Needs Your Continued Support

Current management has interpreted the applicable California law to mean that a tiny number of staff, mostly at one station (WBAI) where the disinformation about New Day had been most prevalent, could override the vote of the majority of Listener-Members, because — according to them — staff members’ rights would be more negatively affected by the new bylaws than would Listener-Members’ rights. Since the much smaller staff group — if considered separately — voted no, current mamnagement declared that New Day lost the referendum. Suffice it say, we strongly disagree with their interpretation of the law.

Finally, Pacifica filed the present lawsuit against New Day. And against the NDP Transition Officers that you voted to put in place along with the NDP Bylaws. We had to hire lawyers to represent three of those officers to get Pacifica to drop the lawsuit against them.

Then, Pacifica filed a lawsuit against all of the candidates for the KPFK-LSB that New Nay endorsed.

An ongoing pattern of behavior indicates that this is what Pacifica’s current management does. They threaten, they file lawsuits, they use intimidation tactics to try to get their critics to quit, in apparent hopes that no one has the funds to go to court to challenge Pacifica in court.

However with your help, we’re doing just that.

There’s a chance that the end may be in sight.

Next Wednesday, Dec. 29, a judge will hear arguments on whose interpretation of the California law will prevail. We are hoping that the court makes a decisive ruling in New Day’s favor, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Pacifica recently filed yet more legal accusations against New Day. We must respond. The lawyers must be paid. And more costs will come.

We have come really far, but we’re not quite across the finish line yet. It would be a shame to come up short. Our legal team can’t wait and needs to be paid as they work. If you think our cause is worthy, please donate whatever you can, from $10 to $10,000. It all goes to the attorneys arguing our case, and working to protect YOUR rights as Pacifica members.

May 2022 be the year that peace settles in every corner of the earth that needs it the most — including Pacifica!