Milwaukee police get the uniform they wanted
January 12, 2010 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Dave Umhoefer
City Purchasing Director Rhonda Kelsey has signed off on a city contract with a Milwaukee company that will supply made-in-China uniforms for the Milwaukee Police Department.
The bidding process has dragged on for more than a year amid concerns about price and allegations by labor activists who say a Chinese textile factory violates the city’s anti-sweatshop ordinance.
“They have no concrete proof the facility is in violation of the ordinance,” Kelsey said of worker's rights advocates. She discounted investigative reports presented by the advocates as "speculation" based on preliminary findings.
She said she would continue to check into complaints advanced by the Milwaukee Clean Clothes campaign, but considered the contract with Badger Uniforms a done deal.
Police officials preferred a uniform, made in China, by New York City-based I. Spiewak & Sons. Badger Uniforms’ bid offered the Spiewak product. Two other local uniform suppliers submitted lower bids that Kelsey rejected because police said uniforms from another company did not measure up to what police wanted.
The three-year contract is pegged at $1.18 million.
SweatFree Communities: Please see the investigative report on working conditions at Spiewak factory in China, here.
