September 27, 2004
Schwarzenegger Vetoes SBCTC Bill to Tighten
Standards for Apprenticeship Programs
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed an SBCTC-sponsored bill - AB 2837 - that would have required apprenticeship programs in the construction trades to graduate at least one apprentice within the past two years to be eligible for state funding. The ABC lobbied to defeat the bill.
It defies logic for a state with a severe budget deficit to give taxpayer dollars to apprenticeship programs that don't actually train apprentices.
Schwarzenegger's veto message said he had recently created a Quality Standards Committee to work with interested parties on the development of apprenticeship standards. "Furthermore," said the veto message, "requiring the withholding of reimbursements to apprenticeship programs for supplemental instruction may have the adverse effect on programs in migratory trades, slow-growth grades and highly technical or dangerous trades."
The governor didn't explain why he used those terms relating to the construction trades, or why he thinks the imposition of minimal standards would affect apprenticeship programs in construction adversely.
But when you look at the ABC's dismal track record in training apprentices, it's not surprising that they would be afraid of even the most minimal of standards.
After 10 years of operation, the apprenticeship program of Golden Gate Chapter of the ABC failed to graduate a single apprentice. The 2001 statistics showed that statewide, ABC programs graduated only 3 percent of their apprentices. Programs operated jointly by unions and union contractors had an 85 percent graduation rate in 2001.
Attorney General Reviewing Financial Transactions
Of ABC Apprenticeship Programs
Mounting Evidence of Broad Problems in ABC Programs
As the State Attorney General's Office reviews the potentially illegal use of apprenticeship funds by three California ABC chapters, the ABC's carefully constructed public image of its training programs is taking a hit.
The questionable ABC transactions are the latest development in a series of disclosures that provide mounting evidence that ABC apprenticeship programs are failing in their mission, directly contradicting ABC's longtime claim that they are superior to union programs. Last year, a study by the Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) of the AFL-CIO looked at U.S. Department of Labor data from 37 ABC apprenticeship programs across the country and showed that the programs averaged twice as many cancellations as graduations.
Last week, the State Building and Construction Trades Council turned over to the Attorney General's office documents relating to three California chapters and apprenticeship trusts in California, and called for an investigation. That information, which was part of a nationwide investigation by the BCTD - related to the Golden Gate, Southern California, and San Diego ABC chapters.
The latest BCTD investigation turned up evidence suggesting that 19 chapters have illegally used apprenticeship training funds to support general chapter activities.
Last year, the BCTD released a report which showed that union apprenticeship programs enroll and graduate the substantial majority of all apprentices. In addition, union apprenticeship programs also enroll and graduate the substantial majority of all female and minority apprentices. The hundreds of millions of dollars the union sector spends annually on apprenticeship and training programs produces the skilled workers vital to the construction industry's future.
Union Programs Train the Majority of Apprentices
Records from some 36 states obtained by the BCTD from the Department of Labor show that, nationwide, union programs have enrolled some 72% of all construction apprentices since 1989.
In states as diverse as Kentucky, West Virginia, Washington, Pennsylvania, California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts, union programs account for 69% to 97% of all construction apprentices. According to statistics provided by the California Department of Industrial Relations, 91 percent of all construction apprentices (57,000) were enrolled in union-sponsored programs, while only 5,637, or 9 percent, were enrolled in non-union ABC programs in 2001, the last year for which there are complete statistics.
Union Programs Train the Majority of Minority and Female Apprentices
Records from some 36 states obtained from the Department of Labor reveals that since 1989 union apprentice programs have enrolled almost three times as many minorities and over four times as many women as non-union programs.
In California, 66% of individuals entering a union construction apprenticeship program in 2001 were either women or minorities. ABC programs enrolled only 39 percent minorities in their programs in 2001.
#####