Now is the Time for MV Ventures to Address Workers

Contact: Adam Duininck
Director of Government Affairs
651-341-0074
aduininck@ncsrcc.org

Now is the Time for MV Ventures to Address Workers

In light of the Minnesota Attorney General’s recent announcement of a civil complaint being filed against Property Maintenance and Construction, LLC (PMC) for obstructing a wage theft investigation being conducted by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, we demand that all parties involved be held accountable and that the numerous workers who have reported more than $100,000 collectively in unpaid wages are made whole.

The Wilf Family’s development company, MV Ventures Construction, should be accountable for monitoring the subcontractors performing work on their project. By employing subcontractors with a known history of worker abuse and wage theft, MV Ventures has profited from the unscrupulous practices of subcontractors with public records of worker misclassification, wage theft, child labor, and worker abuse. MV Ventures needs to address the workers from their construction site. The company has previously stated that if one of its subcontractors violated the wage and hour protections of their workers, as claimed by the workers, MV Ventures would hold those subcontractors accountable. Does this revelation of a subcontractor obstructing the wage theft investigation arise to the level of a breach of contract with MV Ventures?  And if so, will MV Ventures take action to hold its subcontractors financially responsible in a way that makes the workers whole?

MV Ventures hired Advantage Construction for the first phase of their multi-million dollar Eagan development as their siding contractor, and Property Maintenance and Construction, LLC (PMC) was brought into the project as a lower tier siding subcontractor on the project. Despite conversations with MV Ventures’ representatives about preventing wage theft on their project, the construction company asserted it could prevent labor violations on the Viking Lakes project and declined access to the project for worker advocacy organizations. In May 2022, more than 25 workers from the Viking Lakes reported wage theft based upon not being paid all wages owed.

“MV Ventures’ response, or rather their lack of response addressing these unpaid workers is unacceptable. They hired subcontractors knowing that they had a history of wrongdoing, yet MV Ventures continues to ignore taking accountability for their construction site and to the people who work there,” said Adam Duininck, Director of Government Affairs with NCSRCC. “Now it’s time for MV Ventures to stand up and make the situation right. It’s time they take responsibility for this unfortunate and very preventable situation. These workers deserve to hear from MV Ventures about their intentions and to be paid the thousands of dollars that were unlawfully withheld at the hands of the subcontractors at the Viking Lakes project.”