Sasha Lilley is a CWA 9415 shop steward. She's also founder and co-host of KPFA's “Against the Grain.” Her new book is titled, “Capital and Its Discontents: Conversations with Radical Thinkers in a Time of Tumult.“

Pacifica Lays Off KPFA Union Activist John Hamilton

by Sasha Lilley

KPFA news anchor and producer John Hamilton, who had just returned from reporting on the historic labor protests in Wisconsin, was given a layoff notice on Monday by KPFA’s interim program director Carrie Core. Hamilton was told his last work day would be March 30. When asked who made the decision, Core admitted that it was Pacifica executive director Arlene Engelhardt.

Hamilton has been a prominent union activist at KPFA, speaking out against the actions of Pacifica management at meetings of KPFA’s Local Station Board and the Berkeley City Council, and producing a video of a labor/community protest. He also filmed Engelhardt last autumn as she stormed off in a huff after listeners asked her to disclose her salary, and put the video up on the web — something Engelhardt later chastised Hamilton for.