NABTU Workforce Development Programs are Increasing Diversity in the Construction Industry

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

NABTU | Washington, D.C. — January 17, 2023 — Today, at its first Opportunity Pipeline Forum, North America’s Building Trades Unions released a new report from the Institute for Construction Economics Research (ICERES) entitled, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in the Construction Trades” which examines workforce development and diversity, equity and inclusion in the construction industry, including the unique programmatic success of building trade programs and their results.

The study evaluates initiatives in the construction industry to promote greater workforce diversity, including recruitment, pre-apprenticeship, mentoring, retention, and apprenticeship training programs and looks at the success rates between union and non-union programs. The report finds that union programs are far more effective than non-union programs at recruiting and training more women and racially diverse groups into the construction industry.

“Improving diversity and making the skilled trades a more equitable and inclusive work environment is a challenge that requires conscious efforts and initiatives that track outcomes, which improve access to these jobs and provide support for workers from historically underrepresented groups,” said Dr. Amy Tracy Wells, one of the ICERES study authors and Lecturer at Rutgers University. “This study attempts to facilitate the strengthening of the DEI initiatives in all parts of the construction sector by providing perspectives on the current state of these programs in the construction industry—highlighting some of the best and most innovative practices—and offering insight on recent trends in the traditional pipeline to the skilled trades: registered apprenticeship training programs.”

“This is the first study of its kind and gives our entire industry a benchmark in which we are all held to the same standard on DEI and workforce development programs,” said NABTU President McGarvey. “The ICERES study demonstrates building trades unions’ programs are successful because of deliberate, intentional work and critical partnerships with community-based organizations, industry leaders, and government agencies. The findings underscore that investing programmatically throughout the workforce development pipeline and utilizing true workforce development tools like PLAs and collective bargaining work. With massive federal investments from the IRA, CHIPS, and Infrastructure Bill needing more on-ramps to Registered Apprenticeships, we look forward to organizations like TradesFutures helping us advance these successful DEI programs, maximize investments and meet the moment to provide more meaningful middle-class career pathways for diverse communities across America.”

Read the ICERES Study: “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in the Construction Trades” by Cihan Bilginsoy, University of Utah; David Bullock, University of Michigan; Amy Tracy Wells, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Roland Zullo, University of Michigan; and editors: Julie Brockman, Michigan State University and Russell Ormiston, Allegheny College.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Betsy Barrett at bbarrett@nabtu.org or 202-997-3266.

The Skilled Labor Battle: Trade School Vs. College

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Jan. 10, 2023 | Kelly L. Faloon

When it comes to preparing for their work future, today’s young people have some difficult decisions ahead of them: what they want to do in their work life, where to obtain the knowledge and training, how to pay for their education, and what the job prospects will be when they complete their schooling.

For anyone desiring a college degree, the price can be daunting in any field.

“The cognitive competencies that are in high demand in the workforce are generally associated with higher levels of education,” notes a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW). “Today, two out of three jobs require postsecondary education and training, while three out of four jobs in the 1970s required a high school diploma or less. Yet while young people today need more education than ever to compete in the labor market, a college education is more expensive than in the past.”

The 2021 report, “If Not Now, When? The Urgent Need for an All-One-System Approach to Youth Policy,” illustrates that between 1980 and 2020, college costs rose 169%. …

The Skilled Labor Dilemma

So how can young people obtain a secondary education that will provide them with a good standard of living but not cripple them in debt?

Whether you call it trade school, vocational school or career and technical education (CTE), these learning institutions can teach young people the skills and training they need to enter a career with financial stability, such as plumbing, HVACR or electrical. These jobs are fairly recession-proof and cannot be outsourced overseas.

The market size of U.S. trade and technical schools is $15.1 billion in 2022, notes an IBIS World market report. And a Bloomberg article notes that more young people are entering apprenticeship programs in many industries.

“U.S. companies are increasingly tapping high school students for skilled jobs,” the August 2022 article notes. “As a result, apprenticeships are seeing a renaissance after failing to gain a foothold over the past few decades. About 214,000 people aged 16 to 24 were in apprenticeships in 2022, more than double the amount a decade ago, according to July data from the U.S. Department of Labor.”

Bloomberg adds that it’s “part of a national rethink by employers scrambling to fill about 10.7 million vacancies by developing their own talent pipelines.”

Regarding trade careers in construction, plumbing and HVACR are some of the highest-paying trades today. Candidates can obtain a two-year associate’s degree or certification, but many go directly into four- or five-year apprenticeship programs.

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Agencies Directed to Designate Labor Advisors for Federal Contract Labor

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January 13, 2023

This week, the Department of Labor (DOL) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo directing all agencies to designate “agency labor advisers” who are responsible for advising agencies on “Federal contract labor matters.” FAR Part 22 contemplates the appointment of “agency labor advisors,” and requires contractors to contact them about potential labor disputes or questions; however, DOL and OMB found not all agencies have such a role.

DOL and OMB also announced the creation of the Contract Labor Advisor Group (CLAG), an interagency working group comprised of labor advisors and acquisition professionals that will “promote better understanding and implementation of contract labor laws and improved communication across agencies in support of a strengthened Federal contracting base.”

While neither the DOL/OMB memo nor FAR Part 22 defines “Federal contract labor matters,” DOL and OMB’s stated intent behind designating labor advisors and creating the CLAG is to address and prevent labor violations through greater communication between the government and its contractors about federal contract labor matters, including emerging issues like the federal contractor minimum wage, non-displacement of service contract workers, and the expansion of project labor agreements. Labor advisors and the CLAG will also develop training for the federal workforce and contractors on labor law issues. The CLAG’s role will also include promoting “labor peace,” in part by promoting pre-contract agreements between an offeror and any labor organization seeking to organize the offeror’s employees to assure the uninterrupted delivery of services during contract performance.

Agencies must designate their labor advisors by February 15, 2023. We will continue to monitor these developments.

(See Article)

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Rolling back laws that set minimum wages for construction workers meant pay shrunk, jobs got more dangerous, and workers had to rely more on public assistance

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BUSINESS INSIDER | Juliana Kaplan – Jan 16, 2023

  • A new study looks at the impact of rolling back prevailing wage laws on wages and workers.
  • Prevailing wage laws set pay standards for government contract workers, particularly construction workers.
  • Rolling back the laws led to lower wage growth, and increased worker fatalities.

It turns out that getting rid of some minimum wage controls left workers earning less, being less productive, relying more on public assistance, and even facing a higher risk of dying on the job.

That’s according to a new study from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Researchers Frank Manzo, Robert Bruno, and Larissa Petrucci examine the impact of repealing prevailing wage laws — laws that essentially set minimum wages for construction workers on government contracts.

With the bipartisan infrastructure bill pouring billions of dollars into construction projects across the nation, the findings show that contractors in states that have repealed prevailing wage laws may face problems staffing up. Historically, prevailing wage laws have helped plug labor shortages, and contractors could have trouble competing with higher-paying competitors across the country.

Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Michigan all repealed their prevailing wage laws between 2015 and 2018. Using data from the US Census Bureau and Department of Labor, the researchers looked at how construction workers fared as those laws were rolled back.

Those states saw their wages for construction workers drop. In Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky — the three states that fully repealed prevailing wage laws — average construction hourly wages were $23.94 before the laws were rolled back. By 2017, the average hourly wage was $23.77. Meanwhile, states with the laws in place saw wages grow by 12.2% in the same period.

“What prevailing wage does, it kind of standardizes and stabilizes the industry of a local market,” Petrucci said. “When you repeal that, what you have is contractors who are able to undercut wages and pay workers far below the training that they have developed to get these kinds of jobs. Naturally, you’re gonna see wages decrease.”

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Reading City Council adopts responsible contractor ordinance (PA)

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By MICHELLE LYNCH | Reading Eagle
PUBLISHED: December 20, 2022

Contractors must now meet specific qualifications in order to work on public construction and maintenance projects in the city.

Reading City Council voted 6-1 Monday to adopt a responsible contractor ordinance setting forth certification requirements for contractors bidding on projects over $250,000.

Councilman O. Christopher Miller voted no.

The new law requires contractors to maintain the capacity, expertise, personnel and other resources necessary to successfully complete public projects in a timely, reliable and cost-effective manner.

It also requires contractors to pay their workers prevailing wages and offer state-approved apprenticeship programs. …

“This bill will require a responsible bidder seeking award of a contract to now submit a contractor’s responsibility certification,” he said. “This is exactly what we already do.”

Although some critics have said the legislation is pro-union, William Dorward, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Reading and Vicinity, disagreed.

“This is not non-union against union; union against non-union,” he said. “It’s about good actors and bad actors.”

Dorward also said the ordinance helps secure training for the upcoming generation of skilled trades workers.

“It’s about keeping those skill sets to the peak level of education,” he said.

(Read More)

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Labor & Industry Helps Return $8.5 Million To Workers Wronged By Employers In 2022

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Jan. 5, 2023 | bctv.org

In 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) investigated more than 4,500 complaints of alleged labor law violations and returned more than $8.5 million in earned wages to Pennsylvania workers whose employers violated a labor law, according to data released Tuesday by L&I Secretary Jennifer Berrier.

“Workers in Pennsylvania have the right to keep every cent they rightfully earn,” Berrier said. “The department’s Bureau of Labor Law Compliance holds employers accountable when they wrongfully deny workers their earned wages or when they violate any of Pennsylvania’s labor laws. From ensuring proper overtime wages are paid to protecting children from exploitative work, the bureau enforces 13 labor and employment laws that are essential to the protection and safety of every worker in the commonwealth.”

Most of the complaints investigated in 2022 and in recent years were relevant to the Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL), the Minimum Wage Act (MWA), the Prevailing Wage Act, (PWA), the Child Labor Act (CLA) and the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (CWMA).

  • Under the WPCL, the bureau investigates complaints filed by persons alleging nonpayment of wages, final paychecks or fringe benefits. In 2022, the bureau collected more than $6.6 million from about 1,200 employers in violation of the law and returned those dollars to workers, up from more than $2 million from about 900 employers in 2021.
  • Under the MWA, the bureau investigates complaints alleging employers failed to pay minimum wage or overtime. In August 2022, the bureau also began enforcement of regulations largely affecting tipped employees. During all of 2022, the bureau collected $915,000 from 70 employers in violation of the law and returned those dollars to workers, up from $566,000 from 60 employers in 2021.
  • Under the PWA, the bureau enforces requirements for prevailing wage rates on publicly funded construction projects. In 2022, the bureau determined more than 9,500 prevailing wage violations (up from 8,500 in 2021) and returned more than $1 million to workers who were not paid the proper prevailing wages on projects across the commonwealth.
  • Under the CLA, the bureau investigates allegations of child employees engaged in prohibited occupations, working excessive hours, not receiving mandated break times, or working in dangerous conditions. In 2022, the bureau issued fines to more than 100 entities and collected $205,000 in child labor fines that were deposited into the general fund.
  • Under the CWMA, the bureau investigates allegations of construction-industry employers misclassifying employees as independent contractors. In 2022, the bureau issued penalties to more than 125 construction-industry employers and collected$272,965 in fines. These funds are deposited into the commonwealth’s Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.

Altogether in 2022, $8.5 million was returned to nearly 10,000 workers.

In December 2022, the Joint Task Force on Misclassification of Employees – a bipartisan-nominated group of volunteers representing business, labor, and government perspectives – submitted its final report to the General Assembly with 15 unanimous recommendations – including extension of the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act beyond the construction trades to cover other industries in the commonwealth.

Since 2015, the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance has collected $46 million in unlawfully withheld wages from employers and returned those dollars to the workers who earned them. During the same period, the bureau has collected nearly $3 million in fines from more than 1,000 contractors in violation of the CWMA and has collected $3.8 million in fines from 430 different entities in violation of the Child Labor Act.

In addition to the laws mentioned above, the bureau enforces the Prohibition of Excessive Overtime in Health Care Act, the Equal Pay Law, the Inspection of Employment Records Law, the Industrial Homework Law, the Seasonal Farm Labor Law, the Medical Fee Act, the Construction Industry Employee Verification Act and regulations on apprenticeship and training.

The Bureau of Labor Law Compliance includes 26 investigators, four supervisors and six central office staff who work in district offices located in Altoona, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton.