Attorney Eric Vickers Goes After Answers For the People
A $162 million dollar expansion project, a director, Brent Benjamin, with an annual base salary of $385,952, a city ordinance which calls for 25% minority and 5% women labor hours, 1 Black in a workforce with 23 Whites... Somehow, it just doesn't all add up.
"This may lead to a 'test case' for the City of St. Louis' Ordinance 68412, which calls for 25% of labor hours to be performed by minorities and 5% by women."
Eric Vickers
Attorney At Law
Honorable Francis G. Slay
Mayor
City of St. Louis
Re: St. Louis Art Museum Project Discrimination
Dear Mayor Slay:
I am writing because of apparent discrimination and non-compliance with the City's laws respecting minority contractor and worker inclusion by the St. Louis Art Museum on the $80 million Art Museum project (the "Project") currently under construction.
First, this is to hereby request, pursuant to the Missouri Sunshine Act and the Freedom of Information Act, the following:
1. List of all construction contracts entered into by the St. Louis Art Museum with respect to the Art Museum Project, including but not limited to, any Art Museum contracts with general or prime contractors and project managers, and any contracts related to the financing of the Project.
2. List of all firms certified by the City of St. Louis as either a minority business or a woman owned business that either bid on the Project, or have executed contracts to work as subcontractors on the Project, or have letters of intent to work as subcontractors on the Project;
3. List of all minorities and women who have worked on the project as construction worker employees for either the general or prime contractor or for subcontractors on the project for the past three (3) months;
4. Any and all documents and records reflecting a breakdown of the manhours of work performed by minority and women workers on the Project;
5. Any and all documents and records evidencing compliance by the Art Museum with the minority and female workforce requirements of the City.
6. All the certified payrolls submitted to date by the general or prime contractor and all the subcontractors for the Project.
7. Any and all records and documents reflecting the Art Museum's compliance with the St. Louis City Mayor's Executive Order establishing goals of 25% minority and 5% female inclusion.
8. Any and all records and documents reflecting any and all payments made to minority and women subcontractors on the Art Museum Project.
Second, this is to request that the City commence an immediate investigation and consider sanctions against the Art Museum - including stopping the Project - based on the following facts:
Factual Background Evidencing Discrimination and Non-compliance with City's Minority Inclusion Laws by Art Museum
May 4, 2010. I and two other long-time advocates of minority inclusion met at the Art Museum with the Director, Brent Benjamin, and representatives of the prime contractor to discuss the Museum's program for inclusion and compliance with the City's laws respecting such. The Art Museum verbally represented that it had met the city's 25/5% goals, but had no documentation to support this claim, and also represented that "twenty-nine (29) out of the sixty (60) workers on the project were minorities." It was pointed out to the Museum that it was improperly applying the law by, among other things, including minority truckers in its count of minority workers. After pointing out to the Director that it could readily be observed from his office window overlooking the construction site that there were no minorities working on the site, the Art Museum assured us that it would be transparent, and would provide the following week the documentation to back up its claims of inclusion and compliance.
May 5, 2010. A follow-up e-mail was sent to the Director of the Art Museum, stating this about the May 4th meeting: "[W]hat was most surprising was that the contractor has not at this stage provided you, as the owner, the documentation of their claim that they are reaching the City's 25/5% goals."
May 14, 2010. An e-mail was sent to the Art Museum's minority representative on the project, KAI, stating: "Ten days have now passed since our meeting with you, the project manager, and the Art Museum Director about the minority and women inclusion on the Art Museum project, and I have yet to receive any follow-up or follow-through information from you with respect to any of the critical issues we raised at the meeting, such as whether the minority firms working on the project have in fact been certified by the City..."
May 19, 2010. Sent e-mail to Director of Art Museum stating: "It troubles me deeply to report this to you. Yesterday, I made a trip to the Art Museum project to survey the project for inclusion. I counted twenty-three (23) construction workers performing various jobs on the project, with only one (1) being an African-American..."
May 26, 2010. E-mail from Director of Museum received, but no documentation of compliance with City's inclusion laws provided in his e-mail.
May 27, 2010. E-mail sent to Director of Art Museum, stating: "It is bewildering that the Art Museum is not providing to the public - as everyone else does - a list of the certified MBEs and WBEs on the project and their contract amounts. This is standard and the most elementary evidence that the city's M/WBE goals are being complied with."
June 10, 2010. Conducted survey of Art Museum jobsite, which revealed that out of the thirty-one (31) workers counted on the jobsite there were:
zero (0) African-Americans workers;
zero (0) women workers;
one (1) Hispanic worker.
Finally, pursuant to Missouri law, this is to provide the City of St. Louis notice of intention to commence a lawsuit against the City and the Art Museum for failure to enforce its laws relating to minority inclusion on the Art Museum Project.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding this.
Respectfully yours,
Eric E. Vickers
cc: Dr. Donald Suggs
Steven Cousins, Esq.
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Eric Vickers
Attorney At Law
Honorable Francis G. Slay
Mayor
City of St. Louis
Re: St. Louis Art Museum Project Discrimination
Dear Mayor Slay:
I am writing because of apparent discrimination and non-compliance with the City's laws respecting minority contractor and worker inclusion by the St. Louis Art Museum on the $80 million Art Museum project (the "Project") currently under construction.
First, this is to hereby request, pursuant to the Missouri Sunshine Act and the Freedom of Information Act, the following:
1. List of all construction contracts entered into by the St. Louis Art Museum with respect to the Art Museum Project, including but not limited to, any Art Museum contracts with general or prime contractors and project managers, and any contracts related to the financing of the Project.
2. List of all firms certified by the City of St. Louis as either a minority business or a woman owned business that either bid on the Project, or have executed contracts to work as subcontractors on the Project, or have letters of intent to work as subcontractors on the Project;
3. List of all minorities and women who have worked on the project as construction worker employees for either the general or prime contractor or for subcontractors on the project for the past three (3) months;
4. Any and all documents and records reflecting a breakdown of the manhours of work performed by minority and women workers on the Project;
5. Any and all documents and records evidencing compliance by the Art Museum with the minority and female workforce requirements of the City.
6. All the certified payrolls submitted to date by the general or prime contractor and all the subcontractors for the Project.
7. Any and all records and documents reflecting the Art Museum's compliance with the St. Louis City Mayor's Executive Order establishing goals of 25% minority and 5% female inclusion.
8. Any and all records and documents reflecting any and all payments made to minority and women subcontractors on the Art Museum Project.
Second, this is to request that the City commence an immediate investigation and consider sanctions against the Art Museum - including stopping the Project - based on the following facts:
Factual Background Evidencing Discrimination and Non-compliance with City's Minority Inclusion Laws by Art Museum
May 4, 2010. I and two other long-time advocates of minority inclusion met at the Art Museum with the Director, Brent Benjamin, and representatives of the prime contractor to discuss the Museum's program for inclusion and compliance with the City's laws respecting such. The Art Museum verbally represented that it had met the city's 25/5% goals, but had no documentation to support this claim, and also represented that "twenty-nine (29) out of the sixty (60) workers on the project were minorities." It was pointed out to the Museum that it was improperly applying the law by, among other things, including minority truckers in its count of minority workers. After pointing out to the Director that it could readily be observed from his office window overlooking the construction site that there were no minorities working on the site, the Art Museum assured us that it would be transparent, and would provide the following week the documentation to back up its claims of inclusion and compliance.
May 5, 2010. A follow-up e-mail was sent to the Director of the Art Museum, stating this about the May 4th meeting: "[W]hat was most surprising was that the contractor has not at this stage provided you, as the owner, the documentation of their claim that they are reaching the City's 25/5% goals."
May 14, 2010. An e-mail was sent to the Art Museum's minority representative on the project, KAI, stating: "Ten days have now passed since our meeting with you, the project manager, and the Art Museum Director about the minority and women inclusion on the Art Museum project, and I have yet to receive any follow-up or follow-through information from you with respect to any of the critical issues we raised at the meeting, such as whether the minority firms working on the project have in fact been certified by the City..."
May 19, 2010. Sent e-mail to Director of Art Museum stating: "It troubles me deeply to report this to you. Yesterday, I made a trip to the Art Museum project to survey the project for inclusion. I counted twenty-three (23) construction workers performing various jobs on the project, with only one (1) being an African-American..."
May 26, 2010. E-mail from Director of Museum received, but no documentation of compliance with City's inclusion laws provided in his e-mail.
May 27, 2010. E-mail sent to Director of Art Museum, stating: "It is bewildering that the Art Museum is not providing to the public - as everyone else does - a list of the certified MBEs and WBEs on the project and their contract amounts. This is standard and the most elementary evidence that the city's M/WBE goals are being complied with."
June 10, 2010. Conducted survey of Art Museum jobsite, which revealed that out of the thirty-one (31) workers counted on the jobsite there were:
zero (0) African-Americans workers;
zero (0) women workers;
one (1) Hispanic worker.
Finally, pursuant to Missouri law, this is to provide the City of St. Louis notice of intention to commence a lawsuit against the City and the Art Museum for failure to enforce its laws relating to minority inclusion on the Art Museum Project.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding this.
Respectfully yours,
Eric E. Vickers
cc: Dr. Donald Suggs
Steven Cousins, Esq.
RCE Investigates: Tuesday, June 1, 2010, 1:15pm - 1 Black Laborer and 21 Whites
The Lone Black Man
Home
Brother Bob's Opinion: REGISTER TO VOTE AND THEN - VOTE - VOTE - VOTE - VOTE
I 'Googled' Myself
The Karate Kid: Black Star Power for the Next Generation
Tax Credits, Fees and Fairness: What We Need To Do About It
Northside Community Benefits Alliance (NSCBA)
Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association (MPNIA) - Summer Youth JOBS!
St. Louis City Madness
Michael McMillan Will Host "World Percussion Theatre 2010"
The Fleecing of the People by the City of St. Ann - Video
Michael Moore, Chairman of Citizens Against Racial Profiling, Goes After the Real Criminals - Video
Honorable Francis G. Slay
Mayor
City of St. Louis
Re: St. Louis Art Museum Project Discrimination
Dear Mayor Slay:
I am writing because of apparent discrimination and non-compliance with the City's laws respecting minority contractor and worker inclusion by the St. Louis Art Museum on the $80 million Art Museum project (the "Project") currently under construction.
First, this is to hereby request, pursuant to the Missouri Sunshine Act and the Freedom of Information Act, the following:
1. List of all construction contracts entered into by the St. Louis Art Museum with respect to the Art Museum Project, including but not limited to, any Art Museum contracts with general or prime contractors and project managers, and any contracts related to the financing of the Project.
2. List of all firms certified by the City of St. Louis as either a minority business or a woman owned business that either bid on the Project, or have executed contracts to work as subcontractors on the Project, or have letters of intent to work as subcontractors on the Project;
3. List of all minorities and women who have worked on the project as construction worker employees for either the general or prime contractor or for subcontractors on the project for the past three (3) months;
4. Any and all documents and records reflecting a breakdown of the manhours of work performed by minority and women workers on the Project;
5. Any and all documents and records evidencing compliance by the Art Museum with the minority and female workforce requirements of the City.
6. All the certified payrolls submitted to date by the general or prime contractor and all the subcontractors for the Project.
7. Any and all records and documents reflecting the Art Museum's compliance with the St. Louis City Mayor's Executive Order establishing goals of 25% minority and 5% female inclusion.
8. Any and all records and documents reflecting any and all payments made to minority and women subcontractors on the Art Museum Project.
Second, this is to request that the City commence an immediate investigation and consider sanctions against the Art Museum - including stopping the Project - based on the following facts:
Factual Background Evidencing Discrimination and Non-compliance with City's Minority Inclusion Laws by Art Museum
May 4, 2010. I and two other long-time advocates of minority inclusion met at the Art Museum with the Director, Brent Benjamin, and representatives of the prime contractor to discuss the Museum's program for inclusion and compliance with the City's laws respecting such. The Art Museum verbally represented that it had met the city's 25/5% goals, but had no documentation to support this claim, and also represented that "twenty-nine (29) out of the sixty (60) workers on the project were minorities." It was pointed out to the Museum that it was improperly applying the law by, among other things, including minority truckers in its count of minority workers. After pointing out to the Director that it could readily be observed from his office window overlooking the construction site that there were no minorities working on the site, the Art Museum assured us that it would be transparent, and would provide the following week the documentation to back up its claims of inclusion and compliance.
May 5, 2010. A follow-up e-mail was sent to the Director of the Art Museum, stating this about the May 4th meeting: "[W]hat was most surprising was that the contractor has not at this stage provided you, as the owner, the documentation of their claim that they are reaching the City's 25/5% goals."
May 14, 2010. An e-mail was sent to the Art Museum's minority representative on the project, KAI, stating: "Ten days have now passed since our meeting with you, the project manager, and the Art Museum Director about the minority and women inclusion on the Art Museum project, and I have yet to receive any follow-up or follow-through information from you with respect to any of the critical issues we raised at the meeting, such as whether the minority firms working on the project have in fact been certified by the City..."
May 19, 2010. Sent e-mail to Director of Art Museum stating: "It troubles me deeply to report this to you. Yesterday, I made a trip to the Art Museum project to survey the project for inclusion. I counted twenty-three (23) construction workers performing various jobs on the project, with only one (1) being an African-American..."
May 26, 2010. E-mail from Director of Museum received, but no documentation of compliance with City's inclusion laws provided in his e-mail.
May 27, 2010. E-mail sent to Director of Art Museum, stating: "It is bewildering that the Art Museum is not providing to the public - as everyone else does - a list of the certified MBEs and WBEs on the project and their contract amounts. This is standard and the most elementary evidence that the city's M/WBE goals are being complied with."
June 10, 2010. Conducted survey of Art Museum jobsite, which revealed that out of the thirty-one (31) workers counted on the jobsite there were:
zero (0) African-Americans workers;
zero (0) women workers;
one (1) Hispanic worker.
Finally, pursuant to Missouri law, this is to provide the City of St. Louis notice of intention to commence a lawsuit against the City and the Art Museum for failure to enforce its laws relating to minority inclusion on the Art Museum Project.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding this.
Respectfully yours,
Eric E. Vickers
cc: Dr. Donald Suggs
Steven Cousins, Esq.