Part 6: Minnesota Department of Transportation – Retaliation! The Association of Women Contractors (AWC) requests no Black Media at “Public Meetings”
If the protected class and gender of MnDOT is addressed head-on; and if the questions are asked; “Why are White men and women receiving federal dollars as DBE’s while MnDOT continues to be dismissive of the term minority? By exposing the obvious, the reaction by those involved in secret negotiations of the protected class will surface.
Since the Minnesota Department of Transportation has over 4530 employees with only 95 Black, its obvious to IBNN where the problem is as it pertains to a fair playing field.
IBNN was sure that if we waited in the cut long enough, “White Privilege” would raise its head and continue to exclude, reject, bar, prohibit, rule out, obstruct, derail, deny and try to eliminate important information about the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s 17 year trend of failure as it pertains to engaging the minority-ethnic contractors of the state of Minnesota through their Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program and the dismissive behavior of not adhering to CFR 49, Part 26 Goals – which is interpreted, “Make it work, by any means necessary.”
The Association of Women Contractors (AWC) executive director, Barb Christensen sent the following letter to MnDOT’s Bernie Arseneau, Division Director-Policy, Safety and Strategic Initiatives:
The letter reads (unedited):
December 30, 2009
Mr. Bernie Arseneau
Division Director, Policy, Safety and Strategic Initiatives
Minnesota Department of Transportation
395 John Ireland Boulevard
Mailstop 100
St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-1899
Dear Mr. Arseneau:
I am writing on behalf of the Association of Women Contractors (AWC). We are in complete disagreement with Lennie Chism’s recent actions of gender discrimination against women contractors.
We vehemently disagree with the statistics that Mr. Chism is quoting that 99% of all DBE contracts to white women and white male contractors. We respectfully request that MnDOT provide accurate data in regard to DBE Contract Demographics and publicly state the DBE Contract facts.
We also disagree with the opinions of Mr. Chism and take offense at his discriminatory remarks toward women contractors. Women business owners face strong discrimination in the construction industry, specifically on highway heavy projects. To suggest that women contractors are not equally as challenged-as-minority contractors is divisive.
This divisive behavior is counterproductive to the collaborative and its goals of creating change within the DBE program. Mr. Chism has shown complete disregard for the efforts of the collaborative and in particular the Good Faith Effort (GFE) Measurement Committee.
We also request that MnDot not allow journalists into working team meetings as happened at the last GFE meetings when Lennie “bought along” his “journalist friend”. It shuts down open communication by the team participants and is thus counterproductive to the goals of the Collaborative.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns regarding this information.
Respectfully,
Barb Lau Christensen
Executive Director
cc: Dave Demerad, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota
Jim Frisco, National Association of Minority Contractors
###
After reading this letter, IBNN took the opportunity to visit the AWC website and give Ms. Christensen and opportunity to comment on her letter (01/25/10). Ms. Christensen had no comment on her letter.
The Association of Women Contractors (AWC) website shows what IBNN has been talking about from the beginning, “White Privilege.” We took a look at the tab marked “Scholarships.” In 2009, AWC awarded ten $1,000 scholarships to the following young women pursuing their career in construction.
No surprise – we could not find a Black face anywhere on the site.
As IBNN posted earlier in Part 4 of the MnDOT series: “Women (white women) are identified as a “protected class” according to Affirmative Action policies. They don’t necessarily experience discrimination as we (Black Americans) think of racial discrimination, but they do experience gender oppression, sexual harassment and the employment glass ceiling. Affirmative Action policies are designed to protect them from such discrimination. However, in Minnesota, white women outnumber Blacks and are often considered for opportunities in advance of persons of color. Also, more women (again white women) are entering college and are assuming white collar jobs and executive positions in advance of people of color. Consequently, the question is since white women outnumber Black Americans in Minnesota, should white women still be identified as a “protected class” and receive DBE funding while Black American DBE’s receive less than one percent?
Mr. Chism’s statements were not “discriminatory” at all. What Lennie is drawing attention to is a long history of MnDOT tagging and using White women as minorities while Black men and women contractors (minorities), are left out of the awards for federally funded highway heavy contracts.
In the above letter, Ms. Christensen requests “numbers” from MnDOT. Let’s keep in mind she is also on the Good Faith Effort Committee. While Mr. Lennie Chism brings up factual data about MnDOT’s “replacement-minorities” it seems peculiar that for the first time, someone in that committee is requesting public distribution of the information.
We’ll save you a trip.
In report supplied by MnDOT to IBNN titled, “Uniform Report of DBE Awards or Commitments and Payments – Federal Dollars Awarded(2008-2009),” shows 231 DBE’s with only 11 DBE listed as Black, receiving less than 2% in federal dollars in federal fiscal year 2008-2009.
The report also shows that White men and women were the recipients of over 90% of the dollars awarded by MnDOT for federally funded contracts (2008-2009). So, if Ms. Christensen thinks that Mr. Chism information is “divisive,” maybe she should look at the numbers which show a 17 year trend of catastrophic failure by MnDOT, internally and externally…unless you are a White DBE.
The Association of Women Contractors (AWC) is list with the Minnesota Secretary of State as a non-profit corporation since 1995.
In view of understanding, (or hopes of understanding) State and Federal Law as it pertains to non-profits and in this case, an executive director of a non-profit blatantly requesting MnDOT to violate State and Federal open meeting laws; deny civil rights and violates with extreme prejudice First Amendment Rights for embarking on a mission that excludes members of the public to attend a public meeting, media or not – if the “Strib” came knocking, you would let them come in so you could get a “feel good” piece done about the process of wanting to do something, but for the most part, doing nothing.
IBNN attests the letter sent by Ms. Christensen, violates the Minnesota Open Meeting Law which says:
“The Minnesota Open Meeting Law” requires that meetings of governmental bodies generally be open to the public.
The Minnesota Supreme Court has articulated three purposes of the law:
- To prohibit actions being taken at a secret meeting where it is impossible for the interested public to become fully informed about a public board’s decisions or to detect improper influences.
- To assure the public’s right to be informed
- To afford the public an opportunity to present its views to the public body
The open meeting law provides a civil penalty of up to $300 for intentional violation.
A person who is found to have intentionally violated the law in three or more legal actions involving the same governmental body forfeits the right to serve on that body for a time equal to the term the person was serving. The Minnesota Supreme Court has held that this removal provision is constitutional only if the conduct constitutes malfeasance or non-feasance and provided that the violations occurred after the person had a reasonable amount of time to learn the responsibilities of office.
IBNN requests the Minnesota Department of Transportation to immediately remove Ms. Barb Christensen and her organization, Association of Women Contractors from the Good Faith Effort Group for attempting to close a public meeting to Black journalists and others who don’t agree with her interpretations.
Furthermore, IBNN and the National Research Institute formally request a meeting with the Board of Directors of the Association of Women Contractors-Minnesota to address this heinous action by its executive director.
“Improper influences” will no longer have a seat at MnDOT’s table.
See more photos here from the Association of Women Contractors.
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