KUNM volunteers passed a motion Aug. 26 to have a legalistic clause, added by the University, struck from their procedures manual.
They also resolved that they have no confidence in the UNM administration and sent a letter stating as much to President David Schmidly’s office.
“Volunteer Performance Management Procedures” outlines the disciplinary actions the station can take against KUNM volunteers, but many volunteers think the document’s final clause, Section 6, stipulates that the University doesn’t have to follow the policy at all.
“Except as expressly provided otherwise, KUNM and the University make no representation concerning adherence to any policy or procedure set forth herein,” the clause states.
Volunteers at the station are required to sign the document to continue to work there.
The KUNM Radio Board and Deputy Provost Richard Holder first drafted the document without the Section 6 clause in February. Holder later added the clause without consulting the Board, volunteers said.
KUNM volunteer Henry Gonzalez said the volunteers have asked administrators why the clause is necessary and have not gotten an answer.
Holder said the section is necessary because it clarifies that volunteers are not employees of the University.
“I am considering their opposition to that statement,” he said. “I talked to University counsel, and they really want part of that statement in, so we put in the smallest, least obnoxious part.”
KUNM Radio Board Chairman Patrick O’Connell, who helped draft the document before Holder changed it, said he does not think the University is trying to keep KUNM volunteers out of the loop.
“It is legal terminology at the bottom of the document,” he said. “It does not have any real impact.”
O’Connell said the Radio Board will review the volunteers’ motion Sept. 1, but he does not think it is likely the University will omit the clause in question.
“We will discuss the motion and likely push it to Dr. Holder,” he said. “But the station is K ‘UNM,’ and I do not know if there is anything Dr. Holder can do.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Gonzalez said he felt the University administration was unresponsive to the volunteers’ concerns.
“The University administration seems not to care,” he said. “They do not care what we want and they’re just trying to do what they please.”
Radio Board Volunteer Representative Linda Lopez McAlister said this sentiment caused the volunteers to draft their letter of no confidence.
“(Administrators) don’t listen, they do not discuss anything with the radio board or volunteers. They do not compromise and they do not explain,” she said. “It is no wonder the volunteers are frustrated, angry and do not have confidence anymore.”
McAlister said volunteer participation is essential because volunteers produce most KUNM programming for free, with paid staff only working 15 to 20 hours per week.
“The station cannot run without the volunteers, there are only 14 staff members and around 170 volunteers,” McAlister said.
KUNM volunteers’ no-confidence resolution is the third the UNM administration has received this year. The first was by the UNM faculty Feb. 25 and the second by Graduate and Professional Student Association March 3.
