Bill Would Expand Mandatory Use of Apprentices

SB 5873 would mandate that four-year institutions of higher education require, by January 1, 2012, that 15% of the labor hours used on public works projects over $1 million be performed by apprentices enrolled in a state approved apprenticeship training program.

Currently, WSDOT, state agencies, and school districts are covered by the mandatory apprenticeship requirements of RCW 39.04.320.

The bill would also add a requirement for these agencies and higher education that, within certain time periods, the 15% apprentice utilization standard must be met not just on the project as a whole, but by "each trade or craft."

The bill further proposes to add a new mandatory bidder responsibility criterion to RCW 39.04.350 relating the a bidder found to be "out of compliance" by the State Apprenticeship and Training Council with their rules for the five year period before bidding.

All parties agree that apprenticeship is an important and valued method for training the construction workforce and that the workforce is aging and not being replaced by younger workers. However, requiring the use of apprentices on public works projects will not address the longer term and more fundamental societal issue of why young people are not choosing to enter the construction trades. Simply mandating the use of apprentices will not cause individuals to choose to enter apprenticeship programs.

In my opinion, this legislation represents short-sighted and ineffective public policy. Implementing this legislation would restrict fair bidding, increase costs to the taxpayer, decrease business opportunities for minority businesses, and result in lower quality on complex public projects.

The fundamental problem with SB 5873 is that it does not solve the problem of creating a skilled workforce, and in fact, has a number of very negative consequences, including the following:

1. Lack of Fair Bidding. One of the fundamental purposes of public bidding is to provide an open and fair forum for contractors to compete on a level playing field. Open shop contractors, who employ 75% of the construction workers in the State of Washington, only have access to state approved apprenticeship training programs for seven trades through the Construction Industry Training Council (CITC). Thus, implementing the bill would have the effect of excluding open shop contractors from bidding public works projects since the bill would require the 15% apprentice utilization requirement be met for "each trade or craft."
   
   
2. Higher Costs. Implementing mandatory apprenticeship requirements will reduce the number of open shop contractors bidding public works projects, thereby limiting competition and increasing prices to taxpayers on public works projects. Furthermore, the bill would require institutions of higher education to spend additional staffing and administrative resources to implement and manage the use of apprentices, taking dollars away from what would otherwise be used to fund actual construction activity and create more jobs.
   
   
3. Decreases Diversity. The bill would have a negative impact on the economic health of the State's minority and women's business contractors. According to King County Councilmember Larry Gossett, 97% of the minority and women owned businesses in the State are non-union. The bill would exclude these businesses from bidding on public works projects because they would be unable to meet the mandatory apprentice utilization requirements. This would be counter to the policy direction and intent of the Governor and many other elected officials in the State.
   
   
4. Apprentices Not Available. With the lack of people entering the construction trades, there are not enough apprentices available to meet the mandatory percentage utilization requirements of the bill, a fact affirmed by many contractors. Imposing requirements will not increase the supply of apprentices in the marketplace. The marketplace should be allowed to dictate usage or non-usage of apprentices.
   
   
5. Safety Risks. Use of apprentices on complex public works projects increases the risk of injury. The rate of injury to apprentices is higher than that for journey-level workers.
   
   
6. Quality Suffers. The use of apprentices for "each trade or craft" on complex and high risk projects may result in a lower quality final product.