Building Bridges: Your Community and Labor Report
Produced by Mimi Rosenberg and Ken Nash
A Blue Christmas at the NYC Dept of Education
Mayor Bloomberg has cultivated the image of a nice businessman. But what he’s doing at the Dept of Education this Holiday season has nothing to
do with nice and nothing to do with efficiency. A series of layoffs has begun whose size grows each week. So listen to this Building Bridges Special which examines the Christmas layoffs at the new Department of Education which the Mayor has taken such pains to have under his control.
We talk with Caroline Harper, President of DC 37 Local. 1251, Board of Education Administrative and Clerical Workers and Maf Misbah Uddin President of Local 1407, NYC Accountants, Statisticians and Actuaries. Workers in these and other Locals in and out of DC 37 are experiencing layoffs while more costly outsourcing and contracting out continues for services identical to those provided by civil service workers.
In retrospect, it seems that the old Tweed Courthouse with its history of corruption, patronage and cost overruns is a very appropriate home to the new Department of Education.
Building Bridges is regularly broadcast over WBAI, 99.5 FM on Mondays from 7-8PM or streaming live at
http://www.2600.com/offthehook/hot2.ram