Here are some links that were sent to me about our new school board director, Larry Lebowitz.
http://www.programmersguild.org/docs/cohen.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07173/796195-28.stm
Updated 01/12/11 From phone calls and emails that are coming my way, I know there are many who are new to blogs. By clicking on the word, "comments" which is immediately below this post, you have the opportunity to read comments submitted by readers. There is also a section where you can submit your own comment. Just make sure to include your real first and last name, so that it can be published. If I can't verify who you are, I will not publish your comment.
23 comments:
Someone sent in an excellent comment which started with, "how is this possible..." Please resubmit with your full name, so that I can publish this.
Elaine Gillen
How is this possible? How can the school board choose someone who actually holds seminars counseling employers to circumvent the law in order to hire foreign employees? Has anyone sent the school board this damning video?
Nancy Bies
Last year the School Board passed a BIG TAX HIKE; this year they appointed a Board Member that keeps American citizens out of good jobs.
What kind of judgment did our Superintendent exercise when he put Larry Lebowitz on the Superintendent’s Key Communicators Committee along side deadbeat athletic supporters like David Reese and Dan Goff?
Nancy Bies asks "how is this possible?". I think Mr. Lebowitz fits in with this board perfectly. In fact, he can probably teach them a few more tricks on how to circumvent the law! Mary Stanley
I've heard of large US lawfirms outsourcing their back-office work to cheaper American educated foreign labor.
Does Cohen & Grigsby outsource THEIR back-office legal and accounting support to other countries?
Is it possible that Mr. Lebowitz was selected so that he can off-shore teaching responsibilities? Do our parents want their kids papers and tests graded from someone who can barely speak english?
If you think that my comment is extreme then investigate who writes the test questions for the companies that produce the exams for No Child Left Behind.
I believe Mr. Lebowitz served a co-chair with Mary Birks on some organization that was separate from his board position on the Mt. Lebanon Foundation For Education (MLFE). He also testified at the Act 34 hearing last February....testimony worth reviewing and available on the District website.
His wife reportedly sent an e-mail to a number of people asking them to appear in numbers, including children, with signs promoting the high school project and opposing the Town Hall meeting at the Municipal Building late last year.
Will Mr. Lebowitz provide the same kind of seminar and advice to the SB & Super on hiring practices for teachers, secretarial, custodial and food service workers at MTLSD ?
Bill Lewis
Even Glenn Beck has heard of our new school board director. Glenn Beck
Elaine Gillen
Please leave your full name so that you can be published. Thanks.
Elaine
For three years now, I have held a clothing drive at my church called, "Dress 4 Work." Many generous people have donated men's suits or business attire so that men can go on job interviews with a higher level of self-esteem and ultimately become self-sufficient members of their communities. I am disgusted knowing there are companies paying money to learn how NOT to hire American citizens. And even more disgusting to me, our School Board selected the man in the video to serve our community for the remainder of Mr. Fraasch's term.
Elaine Gillen
The comment about work clothing inspired me to step forward and post because my husband and I have collected and delivered 80 winter coats to those in need here in the South Hills since January 5th (one week!). Some recipients of these coats include individuals associated with Bethlehem Haven, and from their website, “ Each year, the organization helps thousands of homeless women through services ranging from street outreach and housing to health care and employment support. Bethlehem Haven ensures every woman it serves regains their self-respect and confidence needed to be on their own again.” Also, a friend who is responsible for a local clothing room (free clothing “store”) where food and clothing insecure families visit after getting food from the food bank, told me two days ago that all but one of the boys’ coats were taken during the most recent food bank distribution. There are so many in our midst needing mentoring with respect to employment support leading to self sufficiency. After listening to this video I think a good cry is in order. – Charlotte Stephenson
I hope people don’t view my comment as an opportunity to toot my own horn. There are many donating clothing and their time to help less fortunate people than ourselves. My point was that our hard work is being undermined by people who hold seminars on how NOT to hire qualified American citizens. This is a disgrace. Isn’t it interesting that just last Friday, Pittsburgh Business Times printed an article about zip code 15228 (the same zip code of our newest school board director) dropping from 7 to 17 in median household income in ten years?
Any comments from the Mt. Lebanon School District?
Elaine Gillen
Elaine, the Pittsburgh Business Times article about the median income dropping from 7 to 17 in zip code 15228 (the same zip code as our new school director) begs the question:
Does the legal practice of “Job Killer” Lebowitz undermine his neighbors’ ability to pay for the new high school?
Lebowitz needs to RESIGN from the school board, the MLFE, his High School alumni activities and the Superintendent’s Key Communicators Committee.
Why should we have a school director to educate our children who then stabs them in the back when they apply for a job?
You said it, John! We don't need someone sitting on the school board who works against education and our own kids.
And how often have we heard this remark:"If you can't afford the taxes in Mt. Lebanon, then you shouldn't live here"? Well, it appears that Mr. Lebowitz is paying his taxes with money earned from taking jobs from Americans, thereby adding to our nation's ever-increasing tab for unemployment and welfare costs.
Shame on Mr. Lebowitz and those who voted for his appointment! Mt Lebanon is heading towards a new low, just like our dropping test scores, earned income taxes and property values. Only the school district's tax bill seems to be rising.
What a sad state of affairs.
Carole Brown
Yes, I think he should resign, but to be fair, they must follow the process all over again and accept new letters of application for the vacant position. In light of what happened, we might get some different applicants. It's all about transparency!! Better yet, maybe we should have more than one school board member resign.
Elaine Gillen
Was Mr. Lebovitz Raja's pick? Isn't Raja's company classified as a minority owned business? Does Raja's company supply foreign contract labor?
Where is Raja these days? Has anyone heard from him? How does Raja feel about all of this?
Here is a letter from a US Senator discussing the blatant disregard for American workers in the YouTube video featuring our newest school board director. US Senator Grassley's letter
Can't believe people are in a rush for Mr. Lebowitz to resign. Mr. Lebowitz has yet to cast one vote as a board member!
He may be the only one with an understanding of what the future job market may hold for our graduates and teaching staff.
To quote Mr. Lebowitz: "Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker," said partner Lawrence Lebowitz on the video. "And, you know, that in a sense that sounds funny, but it's what we're trying to do here."
With such insight into corporate America, we may find he will guide the district to similar cost cutting ideas.
With no demand for Mt. Lebanon graduates, there's no need for expensive buildings and costly teachers!
- Giffen Good
I am getting some great comments, but I need to be able to verify who you are. Please use your real first and last names, so that I can publish them. Thanks.
Yes, the School Board is aware of the video. Here is President Posti's response to an email from a member of the community:
"This is very old "news" that was blown out of proportion four years ago when it surfaced. Mr. Lebowitz is a well-respected immigration attorney with a solid reputation within the legal community and within his firm and is a great addition to the Board.
For the Board,
Josephine Posti
President
Mt. Lebanon School Board
412.667.1479
http://jposti.blogspot.com
Mission: to provide the best education possible for each and every student"
Josephine,
Your comment shows your unwillingness to do what is right for our children. Perhaps someday Larry Lebowitch can displace one of your children from a job here in the US and substitute cheaper foreign labor using fake advertising.
What makes the appointment more disgusting is Lebowitch is an employee of Henry Cohen who once served as president of the Upper Saint Clair School Board. Why are the two districts educating our students to be life long learners if Lebowitch is going to put foreign labor into their jobs at cut-rate wages?
I understand Lebowitch tactics are legal but they certainly are immoral.
Shame on Cohen and Lebowitch!
Some people will do anything for a buck!
"After watching the video, I'm in a state of shock," said Bill George, president of the AFL-CIO in Pennsylvania. "It's a disgrace to the American Bar Association and a disgrace to the American flag that they have stooped this low for greed and money."
The video showed "Cohen & Grigsby [Lebowitz] getting caught with their pants down."
"It's the height of hypocrisy for attorneys who are Americans to do whatever they can do to circumvent the law to try not to hire Americans and do what they can to hire workers with green cards" - Jack Shea, Vice President of the AFL-CIO in Pennsylvania
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_513978.html
It is extraordinarily important that everyone who opposes the activities of the Mt Lebanon school board make sure that they are registered to vote and that the vote in both the primaries and the general election in November. If you know someone who shares your sentiment, please encourage them to do the same.
It is up to you to send the message that a tone deaf school board is NOT tolerated. It's clear the only way this can be done is through the ballot box.
We were able to do it with the former School Board directors who ousted Dr Sable then gave her $500,000 to go away. We should be able to do it again in 2011.
Jack,
I published your comment even though your full name was not given. I happened to like what you wrote. :>) Next time, please update your Blogger profile or include your full name. Thanks.
Elaine Gillen
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