A New York City education panel should delay voting on a $120 million contract for Verizon Communications Inc until the telecommunications company settles a strike by 45,000 of its workers in a Northeast unit, the city comptroller said on Wednesday.

No city agency should take sides in a disagreement between labor and management, and a 'yes' vote would equate to a validation of Verizon's demands, Comptroller John Liu said in a statement. Instead, the suitable action would be to wait until an agreement is reached, he added.

The city's Panel for Education Policy plans to vote on Wednesday on whether to let the city Department of Education allocate $120 million to Telesector Resources Group, which is part of Verizon, Liu said.

(Reporting by Joan Gralla; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

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