|
 Virginia Rodriguez has made her life's work as a union organizer. In the mid-60's she started as a volunteer doing boycott work for the United Farm Workers that turned into ten years and covered many major cities. Her family which included two children, then moved eastward where she continued with the Communications Workers of America. Born into a farm worker family, she says "It seems the injustices we encountered set a direction and a path for my entire life." "I learned that in every case, when there's a struggle against powerful interests - the difference between wining and losing has to do with community awareness and the community standing behind that struggle. That is the power of community radio and KPFA is community radio at its best."
Candidacy Statement:
My name is Virginia Rodriguez and I am running for the Local Station Board as a concerned listener.
I have many years of union organizing experience. For the first ten yeas I learned valuable skills as an organizer with the United Farm Workers, carrying out the all-important grape boycott, followed by other national boycott in different major cities. These boycotts were tremendously successful and forced the rich and powerful agricultural industry in California to accept unionization of its workers. I learned that there are people of good will everywhere who will step forward on behalf of someone else’s struggle so long as there is a sustained, workable plan to make victory possible.
I then worked as a national organizer for the Communications Workers of America for 25 years and recently retired. My role was to work with the locals and develop union members themselves to become organizers and problem solvers in their locals thus multiplying our organizing capacity many times over.
The state of affairs of our country is at a critical juncture. We have just come out of eight “nightmarish” years led by Bush and Cheney. With the election of Barak Obama we can begin to imagine moving forward in a major way. It is possible to win single payer health care and win enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act now more than ever with organized support.
I believe the bumper strip that reads, “think globally, act locally” is a slogan that is a guiding principle that speaks for all of us. As one lucky enough to live here in the Bay Area, I absolutely value KPFA and its programming to inform, inspire, motivate and engage us. KPFA is a treasure—a beacon of light that constantly provides the valuable insightful information we activists use to bring unity within our own community and beyond. That is the power of community radio and KPFA is community radio at its best.
If elected as part of the Concerned Listeners to the Local Station Board, I will work to help expand support for KPFA and help KPFA work out its internal issues and stick to its mission.
Candidate Questionnaire:
1. Why do you want to be on the Local Station Board?
KPFA is the flagship station for the Pacifica network. As such I want to help support it actively to keep it as the model for all the other network stations.
2. How do you envision the Local Station Board working with the Pacifica Foundation, KPFA and the community?
Local station boards should look to the Pacifica Foundation for support and encouragement towards building a successful and engaged listener community. Not being very familiar with the workings of the Pacifica Foundation, I can’t say how this is working but it should be the goal.
3. How could the station better serve its listeners?
Labor related reporting and issues are important. David Bacon’s labor program comes on once a week. Any way this could be repeated at another time slot?
4. Describe some actions you would take to increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities and to increase diversity of the listening audience.
We can do better at reaching under-represented communities. The issues faced in these communities are many and need exposure. One way to give exposure is for KPFA to sponsor forums in under-represented communities on, for example, how they and their families are being affected by the economic meltdown. Special attention to these communities would go a long way to help increase diversity within the listening audience.
5. What sources of funding other than listener donations do you feel KPFA should solicit?
I believe that donations will be increased as listeners increase as KPFA does outreach to communities not normally involved. This relates to the previous question.
6. Please state briefly the skills, experience, educational background, work history, organizational affiliations, areas of community service, areas of interest and expertise that you would bring to the Pacifica network as a member of the Local Station Board.
My many years of experience in the labor movement working in various capacities including years of forming community support with volunteers that manned picket lines, sit-ins, demonstrations, in support of product boycotts of the United Farm Workers. These supporters were the heart of a nationwide boycott movement that brought farm worker organizing efforts to a successful conclusion.
Beyond this, my role as Organizer and Organizing Administrator with the Communications Workers of America brought valuable experience in setting up and administering budgets, organizing training programs and in general motivating involvement by members to step up to take responsibility for organizing in multiple organizing campaigns with major employers over the years.
7. On which Local Station Board committees are you interested in actively serving? If you are a current Local Station Board member, on which committees do you currently serve?
I would be happy to serve in any capacity that fits my background skills and experience.
|
