Activists on Thursday slammed GOP guv candidate Tim Michels for what they called racist hiring practices at his construction company.
Members of Voces de la Frontera Action, SEIU, Power to the Polls and Wisdom Action Network gathered in front of a Michels Corp. building at the company’s R1VER development in Milwaukee.
The criticism comes following a report earlier this month from The Madison Times that found the amount of white employees at Michels Corp. was never less than 88 percent between 2011 and 2022.
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, as of July 21, 2021, the state’s population was 86.6 percent white, 7.5 percent Hispanic or Latino, 6.8 percent Black and 3.2 percent Asian.
VDLF Action Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz called Michels Corp.’s hiring record “abysmal.”
“We judge people by what they do, and Michels and his company have disrespected the Latino community, the Black community and the Asian community,” Neumann-Ortiz said. “They have failed to hire us, and Michels does not have a plan to address racial and economic inequality. Why? Because Michels is part of the problem and that makes him unfit for public service.”
Neumann-Ortiz also slammed Michels for being endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
“How can he say he’s a Christian and a family man and still stand by Trump, who has promoted family separation and promoted the suffering of children?” Neumann-Ortiz said.
Eduardo Perrea, a construction worker who lives in Milwaukee, said Hispanic people, as well as other minority groups, were working on the front lines throughout the pandemic when others stayed home.
“We care for our family, we care for our people, we care for our community — something he doesn’t do,” Perrea said of Michels. “He doesn’t do that for us, and if he doesn’t do it for us, for minorities, he’s not good for Wisconsin. We don’t want a governor that is good for only a few, we want our government to be for everybody.”
Michels campaign spokesperson Anna Kelly in a statement to WisPolitics.com suggested today’s protest was a political stunt.
“It’s shameful and embarrassing that supporters of Tony Evers, who has never run a lemonade stand, are disparaging a family-owned company that employs over 8,000 people for political gain,” Kelly said.
