They're going to the barricades at WBAI, the voice of the left on New York's radio dial for more than 40 years.

Listeners are up in arms and the staff is in turmoil after the FM station's owners fired the longtime general manager and two other employees and changed the locks to keep the purged from coming back.

Amy Goodman, the award-winning host of the public affairs program ``Democracy Now!'', signed off Wednesday by saying: ``From the embattled studios of WBAI, from the studios of the fired and the banned ...''

The struggle between WBAI and its parent, the Pacifica network of independent radio stations, appears to be replay of what went on in Berkeley, Calif., where a round of firings at sister station KPFA touched off bitter protests in 1999 that spilled onto the air and the streets. (see story link for more)