Things are heating up. Speakers at tomorrow's rally will include elected officials, labor leaders, and parent and teacher activists. Be there or be square!
And yet the Special Investigator in his report clearly said that " SCI has determined that Lanham stole millions of dollars in public funds and defrauded the DOE. IBM and Verizon, by their silence, facilitated this fraud. ....Verizon concealed from the DOE and law enforcement that they got millions of dollars in contracts through Lanham only after agreeing to hire CCS as a subcontractor.....It is the recommendation of this office that the DOE recover all the money paid to IBM and Verizon for the Lanham consultants. It is further recommended that the DOE bring in outside auditors to determine any additional cost to the DOE and the Federal government engendered by Verizon’s use of CCS as a subcontractor on work that Verizon could have done at a lower cost."
What: Rally and Protest
Where: Murry Bergtraum HS, 411 Pearl Street, Manhattan (4/5/6 or N/R to City Hall / Brooklyn Bridge)
When: Wed. August 17, 2011 at 5 PM
Why? Verizon is shortchanging their own workers and stealing from schoolchildren! Say no to more giveaways to private contractors and more wasted spending on technology while our class sizes are increasing! Tell the PEP to vote down the Verizon contract with the DOE!
UPDATE: Meanwhile, Verizon has sent a letter to members of the Panel for Educational Policy, claiming the company was not involved or implicated in any fraud. And yet the Special Investigator in his report clearly said that " SCI has determined that Lanham stole millions of dollars in public funds and defrauded the DOE. IBM and Verizon, by their silence, facilitated this fraud. ....Verizon concealed from the DOE and law enforcement that they got millions of dollars in contracts through Lanham only after agreeing to hire CCS as a subcontractor.....It is the recommendation of this office that the DOE recover all the money paid to IBM and Verizon for the Lanham consultants. It is further recommended that the DOE bring in outside auditors to determine any additional cost to the DOE and the Federal government engendered by Verizon’s use of CCS as a subcontractor on work that Verizon could have done at a lower cost."
But up to this point, Verizon has failed to pay any of this money back. Here is what Patrick Sullivan, Manhattan member of the PEP, has to say about this matter:
"Verizon has sent the PEP members a letter asking us to approve the contract. It blames CWA for the campaign against the contract. It attempts to completely misrepresent the SCI [Special Commissioner of Investigation] report which clearly states Verizon concealed billing information and knew of inappropriate arrangements. Rather than CWA, it was SCI who asked that all funds be recovered from Verizon and that external auditors be brought in to examine Verizon's books."
"Verizon has sent the PEP members a letter asking us to approve the contract. It blames CWA for the campaign against the contract. It attempts to completely misrepresent the SCI [Special Commissioner of Investigation] report which clearly states Verizon concealed billing information and knew of inappropriate arrangements. Rather than CWA, it was SCI who asked that all funds be recovered from Verizon and that external auditors be brought in to examine Verizon's books."
Also, please check out what Council Member Cabreras, chair of the NYC Council Technology Committee, wrote in his own letter to Chancellor Walcott, asking him to postpone the vote until he can hold hearings about Verizon's involvement in the scandal.
For more on this and related issues, see Five Reasons to Say No! to the Verizon contract, and Patrick's recent post.
Thank you for your efforts to stick up for kids and workers. While the mayor may think he won a victory, he is fueling the outrage and solidarity that will bring sanity to NYC's school system, and lead to victory for CWA striking workers.
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