Cablevision Systems has filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court, Nassau County against a former employee, Local 1109 of the Communications Workers of America, and senior union official Christopher Shelton, claiming the union representing technicians and dispatchers at its Brooklyn, New York location knowingly and repeatedly made false statements about the cable company.

The union denies the claims.

“This is just another in a string of baseless and frivolous lawsuits from Cablevision, which, like all the earlier ones, will be dismissed,” Shelton, Vice President of Communications Workers of America District 1, said in a statement. “Rather than stop the outrageous behavior at Cablevision and pay Brooklyn workers the same wages as other Cablevision employees, [CEO] James Dolan is again turning to expensive lawyers to try to intimidate workers and their allies. It's time for him to sit down and negotiate in good faith with Cablevision workers.”

According to the suit, Cablevision claims Local 1109 made “a series of false and malicious statements” about the company in connection to the termination of Jerome Thompson, a former Cablevision technician who was terminated by the company on Aug. 20. Cablevision claims Thompson was terminated due to “a years-long history of deliberate disregard for company policies,” and was not racially motivated, as the CWA has claimed.

The lawsuit is the latest salvo in what has been an ongoing battle between Cablevision and the union, ever since workers at the Brooklyn office voted for representation in 2012.  Earlier this month, Cablevision held an informal vote that it claimed showed a majority of workers in Brooklyn don’t want the union any more. The CWA countered that Cablevision has used strong-arm tactics to try to persuade workers to drop the union and claims the majority of workers continue to want representation.

According to the most recent suit, Cablevision claimed Thompson violated company policies in a number of instances, including showing up for work improperly dressed, refusing to accept a new company headset and throwing it on a desk in an aggressive manner, hitting a Cablevision building with a company vehicle and denting its garage doors with his ladder, sideswiping another Company vehicle in an avoidable accident. After being issued a final warning in March, Thompson continued to violate policy, Cablevision claimed, including using a company phone for personal use – he allegedly racked up charges 25 times more than the average worker and used 4,303 minutes of talk time in April 2014, compared to the average worker’s 184 minutes of usage. Thompson also is accused of playing loud music in his car and disrupting company events, and referring to the company’s treatment of employees to “America’s historical treatment of slaves” at a company branding and marketing meeting.

After Thompson was terminated, Cablevision claims the union passed out flyers during an event on Sept. 18 hosted by Dolan – most likely a concert at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 18, where his band – JD & The Straight Shot – was opening for The Eagles. According to the suit, the flyers stated that Cablevision had fired an employee for “talking about slavery” and had rewarded another employee for using a racially insensitive term.    

 “The CWA union is knowingly disseminating false and defamatory statements in an attempt to negatively impact Cablevision’s business and damage the reputation of the company and its employees,” Cablevision said in a statement. “The CWA’s desperate campaign is designed to spread lies and misinformation to Cablevision’s customers, elected officials and the public at large. It is clear that the CWA will stop at nothing to advance its selfish interests and we are asking the Court to put an immediate halt to their unlawful and malicious activities.”

Madison Square Garden literally buzzed Thursday night, as more than 7,400 rock fans armed with kazoos supplied by Cablevision CEO Jim Dolan’s band JD & The Straight Shot, smashed a record previously held by a crowd of British opera lovers.

Dolan, whose band opened for the Eagles at MSG Sept. 18, had previously said if the crowd was able to break the record for Largest Kazoo Ensemble, previously set by the BBC in 2011 at London's Royal Albert Hall, he would donate $100,000 to the ALS Association.

According to MSG, 7,422 concert-goers buzzed along to the Straight Shot’s rendition of Governor’s Blues, which includes a kazoo solo by Dolan, officially shattering the previous record of 5,190 who hummed along to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries and Eric Coate’s  Dambuster’s March.

Dolan and his band took the stage at 7:15 p.m. Sept. 18 and later were joined by such celebrities as New York Knicks stars Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, New York Rangers all-star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and tennis legend John McEnroe to play Governor’s Blues. After a brief tutorial by Dolan on how to play the instrument – it apparently is more involved than just whistling, Steve  – fans joined in.

“I’m honored to make this donation to ALS, and very proud that Eagles fans came together to make this moment happen,” Dolan said in a statement. “I want to thank Carmelo, Amar’e, Henrik and John for taking the time and having so much fun with us on stage, and to the fans at The Garden on Thursday for making this such a memorable event for an important cause.”

Dolan first announced his intention to break the kazoo record after submitting to an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from former New York Knicks star Patrick Ewing. After Dolan literally took the plunge, he said he would donate $100,000 to ALS if he could shatter the kazoo mark on Sept. 18.

ALS, which has raised more than $114 million through the Ice Bucket Challenge, was grateful for Dolan’s support.

“We are grateful to James Dolan and his band JD & The Straight Shot for this very generous donation and the awareness he has helped raise for this important cause,” said Dorine Gordon, President and CEO of the ALS Association Greater New York Chapter in a statement. “The Ice Bucket Challenge has been a true phenomenon and we are grateful for the outpouring of support that our organization has received. We have a long way to go to reach our goal of finding a cure for this devastating disease. We continue to not only push for research but also to make treatments and care accessible and affordable for all ALS patients as well as the families of those living with ALS right here in the NY/NJ area.”

In the long tradition of band leaders and kazoo masters like Spike Jones, Freddy Mercury and Frank Zappa, Cablevision Systems CEO and JD & the Straight Shot front man Jim Dolan is offering a unique twist on the popular ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge,” passing out thousands of kazoos at Madison Square Garden Thursday night in an effort to raise $100,000 for the charitable organization.

Dolan, who also serves as executive chairman of Madison Square Garden Co., will attempt to break the world record for largest kazoo ensemble, set in 2011 by the BBC at Royal Albert Hall. At that record-setting performance, 5,190 kazooists (as they are called) played Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries and Eric Coates’ Dambusters March at Royal Albert Hall. Dolan will pass out about 6,000 kazoos (emblazoned with his band’s logo) and will be joined by several celebrity guests as he attempts to soundly break the record.

Dolan and his band are scheduled to be the opening act for The Eagles at The Garden on Thursday, Sept. 18. They are expected to hit the stage at 7:15 p.m. The kazooing will commence with the song “Governor’s Blues,” which includes a kazoo solo by Dolan.

Dolan and his band performed Tuesday on Fox station WNYW’s Good Day New York morning program to help prmote the effort. Here’s a clip.

JD & The Straight Shot, which just released its latest CD – Where I’ve Been – would be the latest in a long line of Rock N’ Roll kazooists. Several top rock acts have used the instrument – or its cheaper comb-and-tissue paper equivalent – including Jimi Hendrix (in Crosstown Traffic); Frank Zappa (in Hungry Freaks, Daddy) Queen’s Freddy Mercury and Roger Taylor (in Seaside Rendezvous) and Pink Floyd (in Corporal Clegg).

The ALS ice bucket challenge has been a runaway Internet hit for the ALS Association. As of Sept. 16, more than 3 million people have taken the challenge – posting videos on Facebook dumping ice water over their heads and asking friends to do the same or donate to ALS – and have raised an estimated $113.6 million for the organization which funds research and provides assistance to people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Dolan is no stranger to raising money for good causes. He is on the board of directors of The Lustgarten Foundation, an organization he founded and wich is dedicated to finding a cure for Pancreatic Cancer, a disease that claimed his friend and mentor, former Cablevision vice chairman, in 1999.