The New York Department of Investigation (DOI) has accused New York Mayor Bill de Blasio of improperly conducting a secret meeting with unionized Cablevision workers at a public school.
According to the government agency, organizers of the July meeting failed to post on a flyer promoting the event that the New York Department of Education did not endorse the get-together.
And in denying New York Post reporters access to the meeting, organizers also violated rules stipulating that such events be open to the public.
"Public access to events on public property is the foundation of a democratic society. City officials and agencies must educate themselves on the rules and be careful to follow them," DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters said in a statement.
Early in his mayoral tenure, de Blasio displayed close ties to Cablevision's Brooklyn tech workers, who are unionized under the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
The workers and the CWA, meanwhile, have been in steady conflict with Cablevision, which accused the mayor, the union and its legislative director, Bob Master, of "scheming" against the employees of the MSO to vote out the CWA.
"This is further evidence that Bob Master and the CWA are attempting to manipulate government in order to further the interests of the CWA union and prevent Cablevision employees from having a voice," Cablevision said in a statement.
"Whether it is scheming between Master and the Mayor's office, or between Master and the New York City Council, it is clear that the goal of the CWA and the Working Families Party is to do anything in their power to block Cablevision employees from voting on whether to remove the CWA union from Brooklyn," the statement added.
For more:
- read this New York Department of Investigation press release
Related links:
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