State Labor Department officials have suspended a proposal to reduce apprenticeship requirements for those training to become electricians and plumbers in the wake of an informational hearing in the House Labor and Commerce Committee.
Labor Commissioner Tamika L. Ledbetter said she has directed staff instead to begin stakeholder meetings to discuss options for strengthening career and technical training.
The announcement from the Alaska Department of Labor and workforce Development came just two days after an informational hearing in the House Labor and Commerce Committee on Feb. 5, chaired by Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, D-Anchorage.
The Anchorage Democrat thanks labor leaders at the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust and elsewhere, along with business leaders from Associated Builders and Contractors “for speaking up and convincing the administration of the need for collaboration with workforce development experts and industry leaders when considering changes to this proven program.”
Spohnholz said her committee would continue to carefully track the community engagement process that the Dunleavy administration promised. Ledbetter said that she is confident that through respectful dialogue we will get the best possible outcome.
The state’s efforts to change plumbing and electrical regulations, eliminating the current apprenticeship requirement and boosting the ratio of apprentices supervised by a single journeyman were challenged in January by a bipartisan group of legislators, who said the proposed regulations would be devastating for multiple reasons.
They told Ledbetter that the proposed regulations would significantly expand the risk of on-the-job deaths and serious injuries while undermining the primary workforce development system for the industry.
The letter was signed by Representatives Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak: Zack Fields, Matt Claman, Harriet Drummond, Andy Josephson, Ivy Spohnholz and Chris Tuck, all D-Anchorage; Grier Hopkins, D-Fairbanks; Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka; Kelly Merrick, R-Eagle River; Gabrielle LeDoux and Laddie Shaw, R-Anchorage; Sara Hannan and Andi Story, D-Juneau. It was also signed by Senators Tom Begich and Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage; and Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks.
Their contentions were backed by the Alaska Safety Advisory Council, an entity within the Alaska Department of Labor. The advisory council formally requested on Jan. 12 that those changes announced on Dec. 4 be withdrawn.
