The city-hired contractor facing scrutiny following gun-brandishing workers and a cooler with a Ku Klux Klan sticker sent an employee to City Hall Monday to testify on behalf of the company’s integrity.
The Steering and Rules Committee expected American Sewer Services owner Dennis Blondich to attend the meeting. But Blondich was having medical issues, according to another employee who attended the meeting and read a letter by Blondich but was unable to answer any questions about the company’s policies.
Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton started the meeting by saying anyone who grows up and works in Milwaukee is aware of the city’s institutional racism and hyper-segregation and the ways it plays out in society.
People living in the city should have the right to create the type of environment they want to work in, and the right to be respected in their community, Hamilton said.
On Dec. 4, a photo showing three workers from Hartford-based American Sewer Services carrying guns while on a work site near North 19th Street and West Meinecke Avenue was shared on social media. In the photo, two of the workers had their guns in holsters, while the third was holding a gun in his left hand.
On Dec. 8, another American Sewer Services worker brought a cooler with KKK and Confederate flag stickers to a job site. That worker and the man holding the gun were both fired.
“We’re acutely aware of the message this sends and regret that those actions might mislead the public about the positive attributes in some of the neighborhoods in which we work,” Blondich wrote in a letter to city officials. “American Sewer Services has been doing good work for the City of Milwaukee for the past 30 years. In that time, we have had few, if any incidences or complaints about the quality of our work or the way in which our employees conduct themselves.”
Over the last five years, the city of Milwaukee has spend more than $50 million on contracts with American Sewer Services.
Alderwoman Milele Coggs, who said she has received racist and threatening emails and phone calls since the incidents, said Blondich’s absence Monday makes her question his sincerity.
“This is not a conversation we can have with DPD (Department of Public Works) and the city attorney alone,” Coggs said. “As a policy maker, it is important to have that conversation. What would warrant such hateful and despicable words?”
Pamela Fendt, president of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, said contractors carry guns, not based on racism, but culture.
“If this photo were taken in Pleasant Prairie or the Dells, would we know there was racist intent or would you just say, ‘dumb yokels?’” Fendt asked. “(The union) endorsed Hillary Clinton. I can tell you the ones that didn’t was over Benghazi or they thought their guns would be taken away. We have a president who wants everyone to have guns and leadership in Madison who wants everyone to have guns.”
Said Hamilton: “I don’t know what was in their hearts, but I know what was on that sticker.”
American Sewer Services does follow the city’s RPP (Residents Preference Program) policies and works regularly with unions that represent a diverse workforce, Fendt said.
“I think this company has had a run of bad luck,” Fendt said. “To hold someone accountable for a law not written yet is difficult.”
Said Coggs: “For me it’s not about a law not written. It’s common sense. I don’t care about existing policy. I don’t want KKK stickers.”
Ghassan Korban, commissioner of the Department of Public Works, urged the committee members to meet with Blondich individually. Korban said his conversations with Blondich have been “very encouraging” despite the negative subject matter.
“He is a very motivated contractor who got caught due to a couple of bad employees’ behaviors,” Korban said. “He wants to turn this thing around.”
But the committee was not sold.
The group said it will activate an RPP commission and will look at how to ban certain companies and individuals from city contracts. They will also begin to look into diversity training.
During Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, a resolution will be introduced directing the Department of Public Works and the city attorney’s office to prepare contract language governing weapon policies, personal conduct policies, and policies prohibiting the wearing of certain apparel to be observed by all city contractors and sub-contractors.
