Letter to Acting Secretary Pizzella - Brindisi Joins Local Labor Leaders to Demand Administration Scrap Proposed Apprenticeship Changes

Letter

Dear Acting Secretary Pizzella,

I write with great concern regarding the Department of Labor's proposed rule published on June 25, 2019, which would allow for the creation of "industry-recognized" apprenticeship programs and "Standards Recognition Entities" (SREs) (RIN 1205-AB85). While I agree that we must work to expand high-quality apprenticeship programs, I do not believe that circumventing the Department of Labor's long-standing certification process would accomplish this goal. I am concerned that these new programs would put populations including veterans at risk and would jeopardize New York's oversight over apprenticeship programs within our state.

New York State is home to 740,000 veterans, more than 100,000 of whom are veterans of the post-9/11 conflicts. As a Member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am proud that so many of these American heroes have chosen New York as their home. Many of these veterans have utilized their hard-earned post-9/11 GI benefits to further their job opportunities, either through higher education or through job training and apprenticeship programs. The state and federal governments together have created an apprenticeship system where veterans can use their GI benefits to improve their job prospects without fear of being scammed. I was troubled to see that the proposed rule does not explicitly preclude the possibility of these new industry-regulated apprenticeship programs accepting veterans' benefits.

I am also concerned that these new industry-regulated programs would completely bypass the successful state apprenticeship agency system. By setting up a new "parallel apprenticeship system," New York would not have oversight of the apprenticeship programs operating within our borders. These new programs would be wholly unaccountable to the state government, answering only to the new "SREs." When operating alongside proven apprenticeship programs regulated by New York's State Department of Labor, these new industry-regulated programs could appear indistinguishable. Veterans and other workers would be largely unaware if they are signing up for a safe, state-approved program, or a program without the protections provided by Registered Apprenticeships.

Apprenticeship programs are an important element in creating a skilled workforce. Good-paying jobs are available right now to workers through the training programs offered by unions and non-union sponsors and certified by the Department of Labor. However, by opening the door to industry-regulated apprenticeship programs, the Department of Labor is not only abandoning their statutory responsibility through the National Apprenticeship Act to safeguard the welfare of apprentices, they are jeopardizing the successes we have found under the current system. We should grow and improve the vetted apprenticeships we have now, not set up a new parallel system. I oppose this proposed rule and encourage you to reconsider this program.

Sincerely,

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