Updated 08/17/2011 11:57 PM
Educational Panel Approves DOE-Verizon Contract Following Protest
By: Lindsey Christ, NY 1
LINK

After thousands of striking Verizon workers and city teachers held a rally in Lower Manhattan, the mostly mayor-appointed Panel for Educational Policy voted 9-4 Wednesday to approve the Department of Education's $120 million contract with the wireless communications giant.
As the panel weighed the $40 million contract for phone service and the $80 million contract for Internet service in Murray Bergtraum High School in Lower Manhattan, protesters had two main concerns -- the on-going labor dispute between Verizon workers and management and Verizon’s track-record with city contracts.

About 45,000 Verizon workers had been striking for 10 days, protesting cuts to health benefits and pensions.

However, most of the PEP members voted for the contract, as they are appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and almost always approve what the DOE wants.

Five other panel members are appointed by borough presidents, and four of those members present at the meeting voted against the contract.

The striking workers accused the DOE of union-busting for voting for the contract while the strike is on-going.

"If you vote on this tonight, if you pass this tonight, you stand exposed in front of all of us," said a protester to the panel.

"Tonight, ladies and gentleman, you do not have the ability to grant [Verizon workers] health care benefits but you do have the ability to push this vote off," said another protester to the panel.

"Shame on Mayor Bloomberg and [Schools] Chancellor [Dennis] Walcott for once again sticking their heads in the sand, in hopes that we all will just go away," said parent advocate Zakiyah Ansari during the rally. "And we say to them, and we say to Verizon, can you hear us now? We aren't going anywhere."

"We should not allow our public tax dollars to go to support corporate greed at the expense of living wage jobs and benefits and the ability for all of you to continue to have union representation," said Manhattan Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito during the rally.

Wednesday's vote was retroactive, as the contract is for service that the schools started using on January 1. DOE officials said most city agencies use the same Verizon contract, including many of the elected officials who rallied in opposition.

The officials said they have been using Verizon for over a decade, and Verizon set up all the infrastructure, like phone lines and Internet cables. They say if they hired a different company, it would still have to pay Verizon to use the infrastructure. So by using Verizon, they will save.

The DOE's background check turned up 18 issues considered “significant and adverse” with Verizon in New York, but DOE officials say despite those issues, the department considers Verizon a “responsible vendor” for the required services.

Another issue the DOE does not mention is a case that came to light in April. The special investigator for the schools found a consultant stole $3.6 million from the DOE, using Verizon to help filter the money.

Investigators determined Verizon had facilitated the fraud and said the company should pay back the money and let auditors look at its books. Neither has happened yet.

The president of Verizon New York told NY1 that case is still under negotiation.

Panel For Educational Policy Members

Linda Lausell Bryant
Linda Lausell Bryant, who has a child in a public middle school in Brooklyn, is the Executive Director of Inwood House, a nationally-recognized innovator in teen pregnancy prevention, youth development and family support programs. She manages and directs the nonprofit’s day-to-day operations, including residences and family support programs for pregnant and parenting teens and school and community-based pregnancy prevention programs helping some 4,000 youth annually.
Ms. Bryant was previously Associate Commissioner in the Office of Youth Development at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, where she developed initiatives and partnerships for strengthening child welfare practice with adolescents to improve educational, social, and economic and health outcomes. A cum laude graduate of Pace University, Ms. Bryant has a Masters of Social Work from Hunter College, and is completing her dissertation toward a Ph.D. in Clinical Social Work at New York University. Ms. Bryant can be reached at LLausellBryant@schools.nyc.gov

Joe Chan
Joe Chan was appointed President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in September 2006. In an effort to bolster Downtown Brooklyn’s continuing growth as a 24/7 community, Joe works with City agencies, local elected officials, developers, the business community, and cultural organizations to spur new investment, including the development of new office and retail space, mixed-income housing, cultural facilities, public open space, and streetscape improvements. Previously, Mr. Chan served as Senior Policy Advisor to New York City Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff, where he focused on Brooklyn’s long-term strategic land use and infrastructure planning issues. During the first term of the Bloomberg Administration, Mr. Chan also served as the Deputy Mayor’s liaison to the Department of Small Business Services and NYC 2012, New York City’s bid for the 2012 Olympics.
Prior to working at City Hall, Mr. Chan served as Director of Real Estate and Business Services for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Director of Economic Development for the Local Development Corporation of East New York. He also taught public school in the South Bronx for three years as part of the Teach for America Program. Currently, Mr. Chan chairs the Board of Directors for the student enrichment program, Horizons at Brooklyn Friends School, and serves on the Board of Horizons National. He was a recipient of Crain’s New York Business’ “40 Under 40” award in 2008 and the 2009 Distinguished Alumni award from the NYU Wagner School of Public Service. Mr. Chan is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of New York University’s Metropolitan Studies Program and holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. He lives in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn and has two daughters, Liv and Isela, who are enrolled in the New York City public school system. Mr. Chan can be reached at JChan9@schools.nyc.gov

Dmytro Fedkowskyj - Queens Representative
Dmytro Fedkowskyj is a community advocate with a long history of volunteering his time and energies to the parents and children of New York City. First selected by the Parents of District 24 to serve on the Community District Education Council in July 2004 – a position he held for more than 4 years – he currently serves on Community Board 5 as a representative of Middle Village and sits on the Land Use and Education committees.
During his CDEC 24 tenure, Mr. Fedkowskyj served as Vice-President and committee chair for the School Construction and Zoning committee. As committee chair, he pressed upon full implementation of the Five Year capital plan, which put some 5,000 new seats in the district. Areas of the district were rezoned to ease overcrowding conditions.
In May 2008, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall appointed Mr. Fedkowskyj to serve as the Queens representative on the Panel for Educational Policy. The Panel replaced the abolished central school board and is the current governmental body with full oversight and power to vote on educational policy, school funding and operational budgets for the NYC Department of Education. Mr. Fedkowskyj also serves as a Board Trustee for the New York City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS). As Trustee, he provides oversight and approves appropriate regulations for the government, management and control of the retirement assets for BERS employees.
Additionally, since May of 2008, Mr. Fedkowskyj has served as chair of the Queens Task Force on Parental Involvement. He organizes and chairs parent advisory board monthly meetings at Queens Borough Hall on public school education. He currently serves as an officer of his Block Association and was recently honored with a community service award.
Mr. Fedkowskyj has coached girls’ soccer within his local parish since 2002, winning Diocesan titles in 2004, 2005 and 2008. An accountant for more than 20 years, Mr. Fedkowskyj is a lifelong resident of Middle Village, New York. He’s married to his wife Josephine and has four children – Roman, 21; Deanna, 14; Francesca, 11, and new baby Zack. Mr. Fedkowskyj can be reached atpepofqueens@yahoo.com

Freida Foster
Fredia D. Foster was appointed by Governor George Pataki in June 2006 as a trustee of the Board of The City University of New York. She serves as a Commissioner for the NYS Worker's Compensation Board where she adjudicates and processes claims and preside in hearings for employers who report injuries and seek supplemental benefits while they recover from various ailments. Ms. Foster also serves on the Harlem Community Development Corporation's Board of Directors where she assists in the guidance of the organization to make the best development decisions for the growth of the Harlem Community.
Previously, Ms. Foster worked as a PR professional with one of the largest PR firms in the world, Burson-Marsteller. She has served as Director for Governor Pataki's Office of Community Affairs; Assistant to the Governor for African American Affairs; Community Service Coordinator at CUNY's Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) and NYC Human Resources Administration Liaison and Recruiter for BMCC's College Opportunity to Prepare for Employment Program (COPE). Ms. Foster is a lifelong resident of Harlem, NY earned her Bachelorette Degree from Hofstra University and holds a M.S. Degree from the University of Wisconsin. Ms. Foster can be reached at FFoster@schools.nyc.gov.

Tino Hernandez
Tino Hernandez is President and Chief Executive Officer of Samaritan Village, Inc. one of the largest nonprofit providers and community-based, substance abuse treatment services in New York. He is responsible for the administration and oversight of the Agency’s ten facilities which include drug-free residential, methadone-to-abstinence and out-patient modalities, as well as, veteran,homeless and senior services.
From 2001 to 2008, he served as Chairman of the New York City Housing Authority. Prior to his service at NYCHA, Mr. Hernandez was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Education and Human Services, and Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Homeless Services. A licensed social worker, Mr. Hernandez earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Adelphi University in 1986, and holds a Masters of Social Work from SUNY Albany’s Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. Mr. Hernandez has served on the Panel for Educational Policy since 2004. He can be reached atTHernandez5@schools.nyc.gov

Jeffrey Kay
Jeffrey Kay is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Muss Development LLC, a fully integrated real estate company that handles all aspects of the development process, including zoning and approvals, sales and marketing, construction and management. Previously, he had a distinguished career in public service holding various positions throughout City government. Among those include his appointment as the Director of the Mayor's Office of Operations in March 2006 where he helped manage the daily operations of city agencies and coordinate initiatives and special projects that improved the delivery of city services for over four years. He was also a Deputy Director at the NYC Office of Management and Budget, where he served as a senior member of the management team and was directly responsible for the Department of Education's $17 billion budget and was the chief budget lobbyist for the City of New York. Jeffrey Kay is also currently a member of the Board of Directors at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
He holds a B.A. from the State University of New York (SUNY) Binghamton and an M.A. in Public Policy from SUNY Albany. He resides in Queens with his wife and two sons who both attend public school.

Monica Major - Bronx Representative
Monica Major is a lifelong Bronx Resident and Education Advocate. She is also a graduate of the New York City public school system. Ms. Major has served on the District 11 Community Education Council for four years including 2 years as President. She was the chairperson of the Student Achievement Committee and a member of the Zoning Committee. During her tenure District 11 has successfully moved to middle school choice.
Ms. Major volunteers with Operation Hope, Inc, Banking on Our Future (BOOF) Program which delivers financial education to youth ages 9-18. She is a certified Mediator and volunteers for Institute of Mediation and Conflict Resolution (IMCR) at the Mercy College site; is a member of Class Size Matters; and has served on the Parent Commission on School Governance and Mayoral Control – a grassroots, all-volunteer group.
Professionally, Ms. Major’s career includes many years in Real Estate as a Property Manager and is a Certified Assisted Housing Manager of Subsidized Housing. She continues to hold licensure as a Proprietary Instructor and specializes in adult basic education and software training. She currently works for the State of New York.
Ms. Major is a graduate of Baruch College and is the proud mother of two children, Anwar, 22, and Kaitlyn, 9. She can be reached at MMajor@schools.nyc.gov.

Eduardo J. Martí, PH.D.
Eduardo J. Martí was appointed President of Queensborough Community College on July 1, 2000. An experienced educator, he has led several community colleges with distinction for more than 26 years. An advocate for community college education, high standards and traditional values of education, Dr. Martí serves on the Board of Trustees of Teachers College at Columbia University, as well as the Community College Research Center Advisory Board of Columbia University. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Educational Telecommunications System (HETS), the Board of Governors of the Council for Aid to Education, and The College Board’s Commission on Community Colleges. He is a previous member of the Board of Trustees of Excelsior College and of The California Community College Collaborative at the University of California, Riverside (C4). Having previously served on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), he was elected once again in March 2009. He has served as past President of the Association of Presidents of Public Community Colleges of the State of New York and as a member of the ACE Commission on International Education. In May 2007, he was appointed by Governor Spitzer to the New York State Commission on Higher Education. In that capacity, he chaired the Workforce & Economic Development Committee. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Queens Chamber of Commerce and past member of the Board of Directors of the Queens Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Martí serves on the Board of the Queensborough Community College Fund, Inc. Three times a graduate of New York University, Dr. Martí holds the Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, and Ph.D. degrees in biology from the institution. He is the recipient of the Founders Day Award from New York University and was chosen as the recipient of the New York University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in November 2007. In October 2008, the New York Post honored Dr. Marti with their Liberty Medal Award as a champion of human rights. He was previously named to the Honor Roll of the Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges. As the recipient of a Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad award, he spent June 2004 traveling in China with leaders of minority serving institutions

Lisette Nieves
Lisette Nieves is Executive Director of Year Up New York, which is a nonprofit organization working to create opportunities for urban young adults ages 18-24 through a one-year, intensive training program that combines technical and professional skills, college credits, an educational stipend and corporate internship.
Prior to Year Up, Ms. Nieves was a consultant to nonprofit organizations in strategic planning, program development and management and an instructor in Graduate Studies of Public Administration at Brooklyn College. She is the former Chief of the Staff for the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD). Prior to DYCD, Ms. Nieves was the Director for Special Projects at the After-school Corporation where she designed forums for superintendents and principals as well as piloted youth mentoring programs in local high schools. Lisette has also worked at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, where she served as Director of Grants Management. Ms. Nieves also served as a Senior Program Officer for the Corporation for National Service, overseeing AmeriCorps programs in the Northeast. Her board experience includes Center for an Urban Future and the Fund for the City of New York. Ms. Nieves is also a Truman Scholar from 1990, Rhodes Scholar from 1992 and a graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton. Ms. Nieves can be reached at LNieves10@schools.nyc.gov.

Gbubemi Okotieuro - Brooklyn Representative
Gbubemi Okotieuro brings to the Panel his strong and diverse background in education. As the Associate Dean for Governmental and External Relations at Medgar Evers College, he has been instrumental in the ongoing development of one of the largest institutions of higher learning geared toward African American and Caribbean American students in this country. With an MPA from Baruch College, he has extensive experience as an educator at CUNY and as a teacher of undergraduate public policy courses at Medgar Evers and graduate courses at Queens College. In 2005, he was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award by the Nigerian American Community Association, Inc. He is on the boards of the Sauti Yetu Center for African Women and the Women of Color Arts and Film Festival. Mr. Okotieuro can be contacted at Gokotieuro@schools.nyc.gov

Gitte Peng
Gitte Peng is currently an independent documentary filmmaker and new mother with a background in law, advocacy, and public education reform. Her film work has included a focus on the lives of new immigrant students in New York City. Prior to entering filmmaking, Ms. Peng served for five years as the Senior Education Policy Advisor to Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott. She played a lead role in crafting and implementing the school governance reform legislation establishing mayoral control of the schools, advised on all issues of education policy and reform, and developed and oversaw education strategies and initiatives throughout the system.
Prior to joining Mayor Bloomberg's administration, Ms. Peng directed parent engagement efforts and the support of School Leadership Teams at the New York City Board of Education's Chancellor's District, a district of low-performing schools. She also worked at the National Urban League, as a consultant to The After-School Corporation, as a legal fellow in India researching child labor and education issues, in the Educational Opportunity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, and in the Yale Law School Legal Services Clinic, representing asylum-seekers and low-income clients.
She graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, where she taught law to high school students as co-director of the Street Law project and helped to found the Amistad Academy charter school. Ms. Peng can be contacted at GPeng@schools.nyc.gov

Diane Peruggia
A founding member of the Grace Foundation of New York and currently on The Board of Directors, Diane is an advocate for the developmentally disabled. She was motivated to helping and inspiring others when at the young age of 17 was appointed liturgical leader for her local parish. She continued to service others as she volunteered at nursing homes, taught CCD and took part in many charity events within her community.
In 1989, Diane wed Police Sergeant Michael Peruggia. While pregnant with their second child, Michael Jr. their two year old daughter Alexa was diagnosed with autism. Inspired by her daughter, Diane along with a group of others formed an organization to support and offer program services for families affected by the Autism Spectrum Disorder. Since its inception in August of 2000, The Grace Foundation has opened its doors to provide help and resources for any individuals and households afflicted by autism and promote community awareness.
Diane and her colleagues at Grace have focused their energies on furnishing support, encouragement, educational programs and workshops, social skills, seminars and various recreational activities for the autistic community. She has chaired National Autism Conferences featuring prominent speakers and experts in the field; developed a newsletter to keep members up to date on the latest services and programs available locally and nationwide: sponsored regularly scheduled family fun events: and advocated in Albany and Washington on behalf of preventing the closure of the Institute of Basic Research.
Diane serves as an Executive Board member of the Staten Island Developmental Disability Council for Staten Island. She has served as a member of the SIDDSO Family Support Services Advisory Council/Consumer Council for the past 14 years and is currently the Chairperson. She represents Staten Island at the New York City Regional Council for the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). In addition, she serves on Community Board Three and a member of the Human Resource Committee and is on the Board of Directors of the James Cancer Fund.
Diane is the physician liaison/public relations person for a large multi specialty neurological and orthopedic Clinical group located in four locations in Staten Island and one in Brooklyn. Her and her husband reside in Huguenot and are owners of Great Escapes Travel.

Patrick Sullivan - Manhattan Representative
Patrick Sullivan has served on the Panel for Educational Policy since his appointment by Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer in June of 2007. He and his wife Dawn Zappetti have two sons who attend public school in District 2. He is the president of the board of directors of Class Size Matters, the non-profit advocacy organization. He has also served in various offices of his PTA and is currently a co-president. Professionally, Patrick is a marketing executive and Senior Vice President at Chartis, the international insurance company (and Wholly Owned Subsidiary of American International Group, AIG). He attended public schools in Westchester County and holds degrees in engineering from Cornell University and Stanford University. Patrick can be contacted at PSullivan7@schools.nyc.gov

Verizon Workers Strike
By GREG BENSINGER, Wall Street Journal
LINK

About 45,000 Verizon Communications Inc. workers walked off the job Sunday after negotiators failed to reach an agreement on a new contract, marking the first strike at the telecommunications giant in 11 years.

Most of the workers—represented by the Communications Workers of America and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers—are in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions and handle the wireline side of Verizon's business, which faces continuing revenue declines as cable companies poach landline customers and consumers switch to cellphones.

Both sides plan to continue talking but also have prepared themselves for a stoppage. The CAW—the larger of the two Verizon unions—has set up a contingency fund of more than $400 million for the strike, according to union officials. Verizon, meanwhile, has been training nonunion managers to handle customer service calls and network repairs and maintenance.

Verizon said its customers should expect no changes to network quality during the strike, though they may have to wait longer for service calls or installations. A spokesman declined to say how much a strike may cost Verizon. The strike doesn't affect Verizon's wireless business.

The company is seeking concessions from its unionized workers to help offset declining revenue in its division encompassing the traditional phone business and its FiOS Internet and television. Specifically, the company is seeking to tie pay increases more closely to job performance, make it easier to fire employees for cause and require workers to pay a health-plan premium.

Marc C. Reed, Verizon's executive vice president of human resources, called the strike "regrettable" in a statement early Sunday.

Labor leaders, meanwhile, contend that the proposed cuts are meant to lessen the unions' power, and they note that the company remains profitable.

"Verizon has refused to move from a long list of concession demands," the CWA said in a statement early Sunday. "As the contract expired, nearly 100 concessionary company proposals remained on the table."

IBEW official Edwin D. Hill said Verizon hasn't budged much from its July 1 proposal and questioned whether "the company is serious about bargaining."

Verizon defended its negotiating methods. "The unions were looking for us to take a number of things off the table" including changes to health-care benefits, said Peter Thonis, a Verizon spokesman.

This marks the first strike at Verizon since about 86,000 workers took to the picket lines in 2000 for 18 days before agreeing to a tentative contract. In 2008 and 2003, the last times a labor contract was up for renegotiation, talks extended eight and 33 days, respectively, beyond their deadline—but there was no strike.

Verizon will ask certain managers to work 12-hour days for 6 days a week to help meet network and customer demands during the strike, a Verizon spokesman said. Meanwhile, the CWA said it would pay its members $200 a week, starting on the 15th day of the strike; that total rises to $300 a week on the 30th day of the strike.

Verizon's wireline unit reported a 1.2% drop in revenue to $20.4 billion in this year's first six months, while revenue at its wireless business, co-owned by Vodafone Group PLC, increased 10% for the same period. The company reported $3 billion in profits in the first six months.

The company's push for concessions follows rollbacks of union benefits in the airline, auto and municipal work forces.

Comments