Radio KDNA still in turmoil

GRANGER, Wash. -- In the latest turn of events at Granger's embattled radio station, a long time board member of Radio KDNA has resigned, saying the station's director withheld information from board members that would have put striking employees back at work weeks ago.

In an eight-page letter announcing his resignation, attorney Matt Adams accused María Fernández of manipulating the board of directors and withholding information about a union proposal to have workers return to work.

Adams, legal director for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Seattle, also faulted Fernández's fundraising and management skills and accused her of having a "cavalier" attitude toward employees.

But Adams was as biting in his criticism of fellow board members as he was toward Radio KDNA's station manager when he resigned earlier this week. He said the board has failed to hold her accountable for managing finances and has been too trusting of her.

Eight of KDNA's employees walked out May 16, after two former co-workers were terminated. Striking workers claim the two were fired for trying to join a union; management says they were terminated for poor work performance.

Since then, the Granger-based station has been broadcasting on 91.9 FM with the help of volunteers, as a handful of strikers pickets outside its doors.

Adams, an immigration attorney, had served five years on the board and previously worked with the Immigrants Rights Project in Granger. In his resignation, he expressed concern for the financial future of a small radio station that has gained widespread respect and support from some of the state's leading politicians and philanthropic organizations.

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With an annual budget of $850,000, KDNA has tailored its programming to migrant workers and immigrant listeners for almost 30 years, and remains the only Spanish-language public station in Washington state.

"I know that many people feel hurt by the insults that have been hurled back and forth, but this should not provide us with an excuse to ignore our responsibilities and surge blindly forward," Adams wrote in his resignation letter Monday. "This has now led to almost catastrophic results where all sides of the organization are pitted against one another."

In an interview Thursday, Jorge Lobos, the president of the board, admitted some of the criticism was valid -- to a point. He attributed some of the lack of oversight to the fact that the board, which now has nine members, is made up of volunteers with full-time jobs.

The board is charged with oversight of Northwest Communities Education Center (NCEC), which includes Radio KDNA's broadcast facilities, service programs and a community hall based in the station's headquarters in downtown Granger.

Lobos said board members have been preoccupied with the three-week strike and have not been able to get the reports needed to make sure the station is on good financial ground. Lobos noted that he personally has received death threats, had his car tires slashed and that someone hurled dog excrement at his house.

"I think that we have failed in many things," he said. "At this time, we are living during the strike," he said.

Fernández disagreed with Adams' criticisms but said she appreciated his service on the board.

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Problems between KDNA staff and management surfaced after Fernández was hired by the board last summer to succeed longtime director and local activist Ricardo García.

Adams wrote in his letter that Fernández told the board at its last meeting Saturday that the strike was "a good opportunity to find new workers who will work better for NCEC.

"I can no longer tolerate such a cavalier and ignorant approach from the ED [Fernández] (and now adopted by a majority of the Board) toward the staff members -- workers who have demonstrated years and years of sacrifice and selfless commitment towards this organization," Adams wrote.

He also claimed she tried to deceive the board about a possible strike settlement.

Wayne Johnson, a representative of Teamsters Local 760, says the union is willing to permit striking workers to return to their jobs while an arbitrator decides the fate of the two fired workers.

Fernández denied trying to keep anything from the board and said she has persistently tried to get the union to meet at the bargaining table. She added that management recognized the union in February and that she believes its participation will help the station's workers perform better.

"It is the employees who decided to go out on strike. We have constantly said the doors are open for the employees to come back and we recognize their right to be on strike," Fernández said.

"It's literally their decision this whole time to be out there. It's not without having tried to say to the union, 'let's sit down and negotiate a contract."'

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Lobos said the board has approved Fernández's decision to hire an attorney to negotiate with the union because board members lack experience in management-union relations. He added that the board wants to raise the level of professionalism at the station, also one of Fernández's stated goals.

She says some of KDNA's longtime workers may have issues under her management, but that workers who were hired after her arrival have fit in just fine.

"It may have seemed to be a little bit more difficult for some people, but I wouldn't know why," she said.

Another of Adams' concerns involves station finances. He said the board has requested detailed reports since October, as well as information about fund-raising but that none of it has been made available.

"As a board, we have no idea where we are as far as meeting the budgeted targets for revenues or expenses," he wrote. "What is unclear is whether this is a result of (Fernández) herself not understanding the financial situation of the organization or whether she understands all too well and seeks to keep that information from the Board."

Fernández countered by saying that she has implemented new ways to raise money, including an upgraded Web site that will allow people to make online donations and help KDNA expand its audience. Fernández has said that she wants the station to continue to cater to its core listeners -- mostly Spanish-speaking immigrants -- but also wants to add new and younger listeners as well.

"It's a new way of doing business," she said. "These are some exciting times."

* Joseph Treviño is editor of El Sol de Yakima, the Herald-Republic's Spanish-language publication. He has been a regular guest commentator on Radio KDNA's 8 a.m. news broadcast.