Minority truckers and haulers reconstructing the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport are getting about $10 an hour less than what their contracts state, according to an investigation by the St. Louis city branch of the NAACP.
After the tornado hit in April 2011, general contractor Millstone Bangert Inc. submitted “notices of intent” to the City of St. Louis stating that they would pay independent contractors $88.50 an hour, according to the airport’s records. In order to comply with city policy, the general contractor must present evidence that 25 percent of these subcontractors are minority-owned businesses (MBEs).
However, several minority businesses told the NAACP that Millstone Bangert leaders were paying subcontractors as low as $77.50 an hour when subcontractors utilized leased trucks on the project. In some cases, Millstone would only allow the subs to use leased trucks, stated Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis city NAACP in a May 3, 2012 complaint to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Civil Rights.
This arrangement makes it appear that Millstone Bangert is giving more dollars to minority businesses than it actually is, Pruitt stated.
“The notice of intent does not indicate that the actual rate will vary from $77.50/hr to $88.50.hr., thus the notices of intent are misleading or fraudulent,” Pruitt stated in the letter.
Currently, the FAA is reviewing the case, said Ricky Watson, disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) compliance specialist for the FAA’s Office of Civil Rights.
When Lambert airport uses federal funds, it must adhere to federal guidelines of meeting participation goals of 14.7 percent MBEs and 6.9 percent women-owned enterprises (WBEs).
‘This problem with minority participation’
If the airport’s DBE office does not fix this glitch, Pruitt questioned the office’s authority.
“This is the reason why we are having this problem with minority participation,” Pruitt said. “This is a primary example of how loose minority participation is being monitored and enjoyed – because I can tell you that I’m doing one thing with the city’s dollar and turn around and do something completely different.”
The NAACP started investigating the issue and requesting documents from the airport in November 2011. The airport first responded with the information in a letter dated March 14, 2012.
The NAACP sat down with airport officials in March, but officials have not yet said how they will handle the matter.
In an email to The St. Louis American, airport spokesman Jeff Lea said, “The airport and the DBE Office have since made contact with the FAA regarding the issues raised in the complaint and has begun an investigation.”
However, Lea said he would not answer questions regarding the basic process of how the airport’s DBE office calculates its minority participation goals. He wouldn’t answer questions about what a “notice of intent” is, or how the DBE office uses the notice to make sure a contractor is meeting its DBE requirement.
Lea also refused to allow The American to speak with someone who is knowledgeable about the DBE process and refused the opportunity to even fact-check this story.
According to the notices obtained through the NAACP’s Sunshine Law request, Millstone Bangert marks whether or not the subcontractor is a certified DBE company pursuant to the city’s policy. The notice includes a copy of the subcontractor’s certification, and it states how much the contractor will pay the sub.
It’s a legal notification that the contractor will abide by the federal and city DBE guidelines, Pruitt said.
“Either it has force, or it doesn’t,” Pruitt said. “If you can lie on it, what good is it?”
Pruitt questions whether or not the city is concerned about minority businesses getting paid less than promised. Pruitt said not only are the independent truckers getting paid less, but taxpayers are overpaying for the services necessary to reconstruct Taxiways D & E.
Because the airport would not speak on their DBE process, The American called the Missouri Department of Transportation’s DBE office to find out how their DBE process works. MoDOT has a similar notice, according to the description given by April Brown, external civil rights specialist. In a “submittal form,” the general contractors state to MoDOT how much they will pay DBE subcontractors.
“Once it’s done, that’s what we are looking for – them to meet that contract amount,” she said.
The general contractors can not change the amount they said they will pay the subs, Brown said. If they do, they face a fine.
