Hahha ...  I think we were posting and thinking the same thing minutes apart! If Joe is down, that's the one ... I am going to have a talk with these guys tomorrow, I hope ... they can take a look at it and hopefully we can get these to send around.

Richard... 

That's The Perfect Hardhat Sticker...

In Solidarity,

Charles Lezette

Carpenters Local 370

Albany, NY

read the full paperwork , there are many new ammendments and higher cap numbers

Brakes put on construction training programs Low graduation rates for certification prompt move; critics allege that Spitzer is pandering to unions   By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
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First published: Wednesday, August 29, 2007

 

Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Tuesday announced a moratorium on the approval of construction industry training programs, a move that critics immediately blasted as a gift to unions.

Spitzer, speaking to the Long Island Federation of Labor's constitution convention, said the moratorium is necessary because too many contractor-run apprenticeship programs have low graduation rates. He suggested contractors prefer it that way so they don't have to pay higher wages.

Spitzer, a Democrat, said the Department of Labor will review its certification process for the programs and examine existing training efforts to ensure they're fair to workers.

But critics on Tuesday said the governor's surprise move was unfair to non-union contractors, especially as a growing number of cities and towns require that contractors have training programs in place to bid on government construction contracts.

Trade unions typically have long-standing training programs that supply workers to union builders. Non-union builders, on the other hand, are less likely to have such programs, but have been adding them in recent years in response to the laws.

"This will put a halt to the growing number of contractors who have been applying to have training programs," said Scott Zylka, a spokesman for the New York state branch of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., a trade group with many non-union members. "The unions think public works is their domain, and they think non-union contractors should stay out of it."

Adding to concern, Zylka said, is a proposed change to the law that guides the process for public construction projects. The change to the so-called Wicks Law would require that bidders on the contracts have training programs in place, he said.

"You can see how they're setting this up," Zylka said. "Unfortunately, it's now time for the governor to set up his union supporters for their help during the campaign."

Mark Hansen, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said state leaders had agreed earlier this year on revisions to the Wicks Law, but said the state Senate had not voted on the revisions.

Hansen said Bruno will review and consider Spitzer's moratorium and its potential impacts.

Leo Rosales, spokesman for the state Department of Labor, said the moratorium is only about ensuring that training programs benefit those they are supposed to help.

"We're looking out for the workers, which is what the Department of Labor is supposed to do," he said.

Union leaders cheered the moratorium, saying on Tuesday that the growth of non-union training programs has long been one of their concerns. They suggested union training programs offer far superior levels of instruction than their non-union counterparts.

Mario Cilento, chief of staff for the New York state AFL-CIO, said the governor had taken a stand for workers, and though he conceded the moratorium would aid union training programs, he downplayed the chance that changes to the Wicks Law would give the moratorium added punch.

"It would be premature to start assuming that," Cilento said. "We don't even know that there's going to be changes."

Zylka, from the builders association, acknowledged that some contractors who develop training programs only so they can go after government contracts might not be as committed to the programs as they should be. But he added that most builders are constantly training their workers and are only asking for a Department of Labor stamp of approval on existing efforts.

Zylka also said his group had been in the process of developing its own training program, which would make it "a non-union union" that could feed workers to non-union contractors.

But the governor's moratorium will stall that program and others now under development, he said.

"When word gets out about this, there are going to be a lot of contractors who are going to be ticked off," Zylka said.

Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at cchurchill@timesunion.com.

All Times Union materials copyright 1996-2007, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation, Albany, N.Y.

In Solidarity,

Charles Lezette

Carpenters Local 370

Albany, NY