Unions, Business Groups Clash on Apprenticeship Bill
2018 law allows 1 apprentice per instructor. Bill would increase to 2 apprentices.
File photo by Jack Fennimore.
An effort to bring more Wisconsinites into construction trades by expanding apprenticeship opportunities has the support of business groups. But labor unions say it risks safety and quality of training.
A 2018 law required apprenticeship programs approved by the state Department of Workforce Development to have no more than one apprentice per instructor. A new bill in the state Legislature would increase that ratio, allowing journeyworkers to train up to two apprentices at a time. Journeyworkers are skilled workers who have completed an apprenticeship and are fully qualified in their trade.
Trade organizations including Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and Associated Builders and Contractors have come out in favor of the bill to help meet a demand for workers, while labor unions representing various trades are opposing it out of concern for worker safety.
Jeff Disher is a former board chair for Associated Builders and Contractors and a master electrician who owns Disher Electric in Stevens Point.
He told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that he’s worried about a skills gap growing in the industry.
“People that are in the skilled trades are going to be retiring,” Disher said. “There won’t be that person to train someone and pass their gifts along in that trade.”
He pointed to a recent projection from the National Center for Construction Education and Research that predicts 41 percent of the current construction workforce will retire by 2031.
Without a greater capacity to train apprentices, Disher thinks the industry will struggle to keep up.
He’s seeing high demand for his company’s services, and he doesn’t see it slowing down anytime soon with a continued push for more housing development in Wisconsin.
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A handful of labor unions across the state have registered in opposition to the bill, including the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 7, or IUPAT, which includes Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Andy Buck, director of government affairs for the IUPAT in Wisconsin, told “Wisconsin Today” his members are concerned about maintaining safety standards and the quality of training.
“We know that mentorship and one-on-one in the construction industry is the safest for our members and for our contractors,” Buck said. “When you’re in a dangerous construction site, there’s a lot of moving parts and pieces there. We want to make sure that our folks are safe, and they’re learning from their journeyworkers.”
“We have a list of a lot of folks that want to join our ranks,” Buck said. “We just don’t have enough responsible contractors to put them in.”
He defined “responsible contractors” as employers who provide high wages and quality benefits.
Disher shares the prioritization of safety but thinks it can still be maintained at a higher ratio of apprentices.
“We have safety manuals we follow. We have safety inspections,” he said. “All we’re asking for is 2-to-1. Most electrical unions are training at 3-to-1. I don’t believe our skilled guys are any less skilled, so I’m not sure why we wouldn’t be qualified to.”
The Republican-authored bill has been referred to committees in both the state Senate and Assembly.
Labor unions, trade groups clash on bill to expand apprenticeship ratios in Wisconsin was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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