The anti-worker forces in Washington have once again lobbied for rules against working people in this country. The latest comes from the Department of Labor (DOL) in the form of expanding Industry- Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs). This is a direct threat to our working men and women across the country and the construction industry.
The Trump administration proposed IRAPs through an executive order in 2017. The DOL released a proposed IRAP rule in June, encouraging the creation of new apprentice programs across a variety of industries.
The DOL promised last year that the construction industry would be excluded from IRAPs, given its high participation in the successful federal Registered Apprenticeship Programs. The IRAP rule provides a temporary exemption for the construction industry, but it could be reversed when the rule is finalized.
IRAPs will give any private entity free rein to create watered-down, random standards and certify substandard apprenticeship programs without any oversight in an industry where safety standards mean the difference between life and death. Lowering the bar for safety standards will lead to injuries, fatalities, costly project delays and increased chances of rework.
Nearly 5,000 workers died on construction jobsites in 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. On average, unskilled workers die 12-to-1 on jobsites. Construction workers must receive the highest-quality training with comprehensive safety instructions to guard against the inherent dangers of the industry. Regulatory oversight is necessary in the construction industry for training quality control.
For over 80 years, the federal Registered Apprenticeship Programs in the building trades have provided comprehensive training to meet the complex, specialized and diverse needs of contractors and projects. IRAPs will enable deceitful companies to claim their workers were trained to perform tasks they weren't. The construction industry is already experiencing issues with companies knowingly forging documents and presenting fake qualification cards to win work. IRAPs will legitimize unscrupulous employers who choose not to invest in proper training.
Many aspects of building trade tasks, such as electric work, heating and air, ironwork, welding, fall protection and pipefitting, are highly specialized. They require specific training and expert workers to complete everything safely. Structures can collapse without proper welding by ironworkers. If pipes are not welded properly, they could leak poisonous gas or explode. Electrical fires and explosions can occur due to improperly installed electrical work, and the list goes on.
As someone who has worked on both union and nonunion projects in a 26-year career as an ironworker, I can attest there's a huge difference between safe work environments, where workers have been trained through the federal apprenticeship programs in the building trades, and unsafe environments, where training standards are arbitrary and deficient. I stared death in the face many times while working in unsafe jobsites with deficient training and safety standards. I was put to work on electrical tasks when I didn't have any training in electric work and had no idea how to do it. I suffered two falls from lack of fall protection on those jobsites. I also have scars on my hands from a forklift accident, which occurred when I had to operate the machine without any training at the age of 18. No one should be allowed to write their own random standards for apprenticeship programs or take training shortcuts.
IRAPs in the construction industry would defeat the very purpose of apprenticeship programs. Apprenticeship programs are meant to create and maintain the highest safety and quality standards with a standardized curriculum under expert oversight. The construction industry already has an accredited Registered Apprenticeship system with the highest standards. IRAPs will not only jeopardize standards in the construction industry, putting workers and customers at risk, but also endanger the public. IRAPs have no place in the construction industry.
Dave Baker is the business manager of Ironworkers Local 44 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The opinions expressed are solely of the author.
For more information, visit www.ironworkers.org or call (202) 383-4800.
