I’m proudly running for the WBAI Local Station Board with the Justice & Unity campaign (www.justiceunity.org). WBAI is a key source for community education and organizing, and we must work especially hard to restore its local autonomy so that it can continue to play a leadership role in the fulfillment of its mission.

Since 1982, I’ve been an electrician and a member of IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), Local 3. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to organize around various social and political issues.

I was born in Ibarrra, Ecuador, and after confronting repression of the labor movement there, I was forced to leave Ecuador at the age of 18. The reality of being an immigrant and a worker in New York City has made me particularly sensitive to issues of how workers are treated and how power can be seized without any real democratic or due process. I am deeply concerned by the sudden firing of Program Director Bernard White and the removal of General Manager Anthony Riddle from his post, the banning of Ayo Harrington, and the removal of other Black and Latino producers and managers in the network. I understand that the new management, which has been imposed on us from California, has refused to honor the Unpaid Staff Organizing Committee’s contract by refusing even to respond to grievances brought on behalf of producers removed from the air without due process. The imposition of a gag rule is even more troubling.

There are many ways for WBAI to raise money that do not call for such radical changes in management. A coordinated off-air fundraising plan, developed jointly by staff, board, and former manager Anthony Riddle, which includes a mix of cultural and political events, outreach to major donors, and other creative methods to gather funds and expand membership, should be followed through on. I am willing to contribute to this effort. We also need to follow through on the capital campaign for a new home for WBAI, for which Justice & Unity has also done preparatory work.

WBAI is the most important radio station in the New York City area. It is the only one that provides comprehensive coverage of many struggles against capitalism and in favor of socialism, and especially for increased democracy, in places like Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, and Ecuador, as well as throughout the world. It is also the only radio station in this area that takes a strong stand on human-rights issues, such as immigrants’ rights, health care, housing, police misconduct, and social and economic inequities. We must keep it autonomous and strong!

Please vote for me and for my colleagues on the Justice and Unity slate, in this order:

Lynne Stewart

Nia Bediako

Russell Dale

Sister Betty Dopson

Wellington Echegaray

Camille Yarbrough

Myriam Decime

John Brinkley

Berta Silva

Sharonne Salaam

Carlos Canales

Terrence Podolsky

¡Gracias!

“Hasta la victoria siempre” - Che Guevara