A labor movement friend passes along news from The Daily Reporter about a Foxconn subcontractor just barred from working on the project:
Hoffman Construction, a lead contractor on the Foxconn project, terminated its agreement with the subcontractor Vizcaino’s Trucking, of Oconomowoc, after The Daily Reporter inquired about the company’s status as a debarred contractor with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, a list that bans companies from doing work with that agency...
Vizcaino came under scrutiny after officials there had employees give kickbacks to the company when they worked on jobs requiring the payment of prevailing wages... In July 2017, Roberto Vizcaino Jr., a company official, was charged and later pleaded guilty to a felony count of inducing an illegal deduction of state wages.The episode highlights a disconnect between state and local governments which the City of Milwaukee may address to more quickly disqualify inappropriate contract bidders:
City officials recently signaled they may tighten their rules...after another contractor, Sonag Construction, was indicted for bilking the government out of more than $200 million by exploiting programs set up to help firms owned by women, minorities and veterans...But WisDOT doesn’t notify city officials when it places a contractor on its blacklist....Just keeping you up-to-date on the impacts of weak WisDOT surveillance and communications - - and the story unfolding here:
