No Reception at the PEP Meeting
By Katie O’Hare
Hundreds of disheartened and discouraged parents, teachers and striking Verizon members left last night’s Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) meeting after the panel approved, by a vote of 8-4, the controversial $120 million Verizon contract.
Before the meeting, more than 1,000 parents, teachers, elected officials and union members gathered to speak out against the DOE proposed contract with Verizon. Speakers included Comptroller John Liu, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, UFT President Michael Mulgrew, and representatives from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) – the union representing 45,000 striking Verizon workers across the country. When Zakiyah Ansari from the Coalition for Educational Justice asked the
