Hamburg, NY – The New York Foundation for Fair Contracting (NYFFC) submitted the following comment on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule which threatens to erode quality construction apprenticeship programs:

“The New York Foundation for Fair Contracting (NYFFC) recognizes that robust and well-regulated apprenticeship programs promote a strong construction industry, bolster the middle class, and emphasize skilled work. Strong apprenticeship programs are vital to train the next generation of America’s construction workforce. The NYFFC encourages local, state, and national efforts to build upon these long-established successes.

Unfortunately, this proposal opens the door to imposing ‘Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs’ (IRAPs) in the construction industry and would take us in exactly the wrong direction.

As a not-for-profit organization monitoring the public works construction industry, the NYFFC has time and again encountered unscrupulous contractors who skirt the law, infringe on worker rights, and deliver subpar work to taxpayers as a business model. Allowing such irresponsible actors to unilaterally establish unregulated training programs designed to cut corners, lower safety standards, and boost their profits is wholly unacceptable and must be rejected.

The NYFFC is a not-for-profit organization established to level the playing field in public construction for the benefit of taxpayers, workers, and responsible contractors.”

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