Massachusetts House Passes Bill to Require Apprenticeships in Public Construction

Bill seeks to increase the trades’ workforce in Massachusetts

BOSTON – The Massachusetts House of Representatives last week passed legislation that seeks to increase the state’s trades’ workforce by requiring the hiring of apprentices for all contracts awarded for public works projects over $10 million. Effective a year after signed into law, this bill would require projects to hire apprentices to work 5 percent of the total amount of hours worked, which would scale up to 10 percent in three years and 15 percent in four years.

“Investing in the trades’ workforce will bolster workforce development, ensuring that the Commonwealth is able to meet the growing demands for new infrastructure projects. Apprenticeships can also lead to the creation of more union jobs and help to replace highly skilled workers who are aging out of the workforce,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). “I want to thank Chair McMurtry and Chair Decker for their work on this legislation, as well as all my colleagues in the House for recognizing its importance.”

“This important legislation strengthens our apprenticeship system and ensures public construction projects create sustainable jobs and foster real career pathways,” said Representative Paul McMurtry (D-Dedham), House Chair of the Labor & Workforce Development Committee. “This bill represents a meaningful investment in skilled labor, fair wages, and the future of the trades in the Commonwealth.”

“At a time when the federal government is dismantling worker protections and cutting jobs, Massachusetts must lead. The PATHS Act reaffirms our commitment to workers’ rights, to a skilled and diverse workforce, and to multiple pathways to good-paying, family-sustaining careers,” Representative Marjorie C. Decker (D-Cambridge), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health and main sponsor of the bill. “One of the most effective ways to reduce poverty is to ensure that people are paid wages that are sustainable and aligned with the real cost of living.”

“This legislation is about building the future of Massachusetts from the ground up,” said Representative Jessica Giannino (D-Revere). “By expanding access to apprenticeships on major public construction projects, we are creating real pathways into the trades, strengthening our union workforce, and ensuring that the next generation has the skills needed to meet our community’s growing infrastructure demands.”

“I was thrilled to vote for this important bill. Opening building trade jobs and training opportunities for today’s youth is critical to strengthening our Commonwealth, our communities and our families. Apprenticeships represent an opportunity for upward economic mobility. This legislation will reap benefits for years to come. A win for the working class,” said State Representative Jeffrey Rosario Turco (D. Winthrop).

Public agencies must require, as a condition of awarding a construction contract over $10 million for any public works, that all construction managers, general contractors and subcontractors maintain or participate in an apprentice program, approved by the Division of Apprentice Standards (DAS), for each apprenticeable occupation represented in their workforce. Construction managers, general contractors and subcontractors must register all apprentices with DAS and comply with applicable apprentice-to-journeyperson ratios established by a trades licensing board or the Division.

The bill provides for an exemption upon a written determination by the public agency that, after good-faith solicitation, no qualified and responsible bidder maintaining or participating in an apprentice program is reasonably available for a specific trade or scope of work. Any construction manager, general contractor and subcontractor who fails to maintain or participate in an apprentice program and is not exempt cannot be deemed a responsible and eligible bidder.

The bill also requires prevailing wage payments by employers to include apprenticeship programs approved by DAS within Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and operated in compliance with DAS. The bill establishes a Special Commission on Apprenticeships to study and make recommendations on the development, accessibility, quality, funding and utilization of apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs across all industry sectors.

The bill passed the House of Representatives 154-1 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.