Union Apprenticeship Programs
Have Far More Minority Students!
The January 9, 2002 issue of the Construction Labor Report, a national industry newsletter, reported on new national participation findings concerning apprenticeship programs. Cihan Bilginsoy, an associate professor of economics at the University of Utah, found that blacks and Hispanics are significantly more likely to be found in union programs than in non-union programs.
In California, joint union-management programs have 55% minority representation, as well as 19 times more women in these programs (3,739 vs. 193), and 10 times more Hispanics (21,598 vs. 2,257) than found in non-union programs. ABC programs graduate only 3% of their students while joint union-management programs graduate nearly 85% on average.