Bloomberg Law
Nov. 12, 2019
Ben Penn: With National Apprenticeship Week upon us, Team Trump surely would like the public to believe the Labor Department has cleared up an appropriations error surrounding the administration’s principal job training initiative.
The DOL recently admitted to misusing about $1.1 million on the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program that still hasn’t been finalized, dipping into a pot of money designated for a separate apprenticeship program that’s been around for decades. The snafu took place under former Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, based on orders from an ex-policy adviser. The department says it already has taken multiple steps to correct the issue. Besides, the $1.1 million in question is a drop in the bucket relative to the DOL’s overall budget.
Nothing left to see here, right?
Were it only that simple.
Not everyone’s certain the DOL has resolved the spending mistake. Lingering questions could slow the White House’s effort to put together a final rule to establish the new, industry-led job training model.
We already know the department’s inspector general looking into the potential budget violation and the Democrat-controlled House Education and Labor Committee is continuing its oversight requests.
Now we can add North America’s Building Trades Unions to the list of groups demanding answers. The construction union umbrella organization is one of the few labor groups that have found a way to work on certain issues with the Trump White House. Lately, however, it’s using the IRAP proposal to ramp up attacks on this administration.
Mike Monroe, chief of staff of the building trades group, called news of the misspent money “frustrating.” The department’s Employment and Training Administration vowed during the Acosta regime that it wouldn’t use the new IRAP system to undermine the longstanding registered apprenticeship system, a crucial job training source for the building unions. Monroe wants to be sure the department is weighing all of the public feedback it received on a proposed rule to establish the IRAP system.
The union led a public comment blitz slamming the industry-friendly IRAP proposed rule, with thousands of blue-collar union members opposing the rule.
“If there are ethical lapses in the misuse of funds then we’re rightfully concerned there may well be ethical lapses in the review and consideration of all the public comments-which is to say they’ve already made their minds up here,” Monroe said. “Our membership is watching this issue really closely” and “we are highly concerned that this undefined process that is now being funded inappropriately, it seems, may undermine their ability to safely earn a living in the construction crafts.”
Even if only $1.1 million was misspent, the ongoing scrutiny offers a convenient vehicle for NABTU, Democratic lawmakers, and others on a mission to stop the White House apprenticeship push in its tracks.