The union meanwhile has given Pacifica a list of complaints about General Manager Valerie Van Isler prompting the national Pacifica board s decision Oct. 1 to send a team of management experts to examine and try to repair relationships at the station. Staffers also criticize the station s move in June from its gritty quarters in Manhattan s Garment District to Wall Street, the symbolic home of Pacifica s enemies. The space is beautiful, but we look at each other and say so what, said one wistful staff member, summing up the mood among some WBAI employees. Because of all the problems, it s just sad. The dispute at the NLRB in Washington is whether unpaid staff who comprise about 90 percent of the station s workforce should be included in the union.
Management says no.
The union says yes. An NLRB decision is expected soon. The union sees itself protecting workplace democracy. Management sees intransigent volunteers stifling Pacifica s potential. WBAI s unpaid workers already have a relationship with management that may be unique in American media.