A janitorial service company that failed to pay overtime to its employees in Hennepin County and did not pay sales taxes in Ramsey County does not deserve another chance at a county contract, the Service Employees International Union said Monday.

To dramatize the issue, SEIU Local 26 staged a creative demonstration over the noon hour outside Ramsey County Government Center West in downtown St. Paul. At the front door, members laid out a mat reading "Welcome tax cheats," while organizer Todd Dahlstrom, wearing a rat suit, paraded around handing out wads of fake money. "Tax cheats welcome at Ramsey hall," protesters chanted.

"We're asking for accountability," said Jeannette Rebar, Local 26 political director.

Dressed in a rat suit, Todd Dahlstrom handed out "free money" outside the Ramsey County Government Center. He was taking part in a demonstration questioning the county's contracting process.

The contractor in question, Five Star H. Enterprises Inc., in March cancelled its contract with Ramsey County when the company did not pay sales taxes on its work as required by state law. Five Star owner Won Huh said he did not fully understand Minnesota tax law and had not included tax payments in his bid to provide janitorial services at the Ramsey County Law Enforcement Center (LEC).

After Five Star cancelled its contract with Ramsey County, the county reopened bids and selected another company, Tasks Unlimited, but then terminated that contract in June for non-performance. The county again reopened the bid process, allowed Five Star to participate and identified Five Star as the low bidder. "A contract with Five Star for janitorial services at the LEC is pending receipt of payment/performance bonds and insurance and County approval," Bruce Thompson, the county's assistant director of property management, wrote in an Aug. 19 memo.

In 1997, Hennepin County cancelled all its contracts with Five Star after the county attorney's office found probable violations of the federal and state Fair Labor Standards Act. The county said it found instances where it appeared Five Star had not made overtime payments to employees working more than 40 hours a week. Five Star management claimed ignorance of the law.

Local 26 President Javier Morillo-Alicea said Ramsey County's decision to give Five Star another chance "raises very serious concerns about Ramsey County's contracting process."

In a letter to Ramsey County Manager David Twa, the union leader said he finds it hard to believe that Five Star could be unaware of the requirement to pay sales taxes. According to Local 26, Five Star currently has contracts to provide janitorial services at government offices of the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Company President Huh also has an MBA degree from the University of Minnesota, the union said.

The county also appears to have a double standard, Morillo-Alicea said. At the same time it allowed Five Star to rebid to provide services at the Law Enforcement Center, it denied that opportunity to a unionized contractor, Marsden Building Maintenance, when it made a mistake on its bid application.

"As president of a local union, I know I cannot expect union companies to receive preferential treatment in bidding processes, so long as bidding companies are following prevailing wage standards established by our union contract," Morillo-Alicea wrote. "However, I certainly do not expect that union companies will be treated less fairly than non-union companies."

On Sept. 27, Twa wrote the union leader, advising him that "Five Star is the responsible low bidder for this contract." The county manager noted that "While we do not condone a vendor's failure to comply with laws at any level, we also believe that a vendor that is addressing the failure and making arrangement to remedy the problem shows evidence of being a responsible business."

Frustrated by Twa's response, the union said he failed to address several key questions regarding Five Star, including whether the company was violating the law in any of its other government contracts.

After several weeks of trying to resolve the matter with the county, Local 26 decided to mount a public campaign. At Monday's demonstration, participants handed out bright yellow fliers that read "Attention tax cheats: Business opportunities in Ramsey County!" The flier urges people to e-mail and phone Ramsey County management and board members. The demonstration was the start of an ongoing campaign, the union said.