Masonry Magazine January 2003 Page. 39
September 11 tradgedies. BAC members and contractors from both the New York City and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas were recognized awarded for their efforts in the rescue and recovery at the World Trade Center and for their work on the Pentagon's Phoenix Project, an unparralleled project that restored the Pentagon to its former stature in record-breaking time. These awards, presented by President Flynn, and BAC Secretary-Treasurer Jim Boland, and Executive Vice President Gerald O'Malley served as a powerful reminder that the country can count on of how the nation's Union members are an indispensible force in this increasingly complex and dangerous world.
Union Construction Apprenticeships Plug Skill Gap, Says Capital Area Labor-Management Council
Joint union-management apprentice ships are more effective than non-union training programs in delivering the critical skills construction employers need, according to a new study released today by the Capital Area Labor-Management Council (CALM) and conducted by the Keystone Research Center (KRC). "Today, technical skills are a bottleneck in expanding the number of good jobs in Pennsylvania," said Glenn Schaeffer, speaking on behalf of CALM. "Union-management construction apprenticeship programs demonstrate how to develop the high level practical knowledge industry really needs." For each of four or five years, joint construction apprentice-ships combine several hundred hours of classroom training with workplace mentoring and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training. The CALM report evaluates Pennsylvania construction apprenticeships using official U.S. Department of Labor data. The report contrasts the record of joint union-management programs with apprenticeships operated by non-union employers.
In 2001, joint programs accounted for six out of every seven construction apprentice graduates in Pennsylvania - 1,431 compared to 241 graduates from non-union programs. In 2001, union programs accounted for 12 out of every 13 male minorities and women completing Pennsylvania construction apprenticeships. From 1997 to 2001, union apprentice-ship programs responded to emerging skill gaps in the construction industry, hiking the number of program graduates by 607, or about 75 percent. In the same period, non-union programs increased their graduation numbers by 39. The unionized construction industry pays for apprenticeship by allocating a fixed amount per hour worked to a joint training fund ordinarily between 20 cents and a dollar per hour. Most of the non-union industry has not found a similar way to share training costs. To keep costs as low as possible, many non-union contractors only build skills necessary for the immediate tasks.
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The Voice of the Mason Contractor CIRCLE 164 ON READER SERVICE CARD January 2003 Masonry 35