Maine AFL-CIO Supports Bill to Help Workers Enter Certified Pre-Apprenticeship Programs

The Maine AFL-CIO testified on Tuesday in support of state legislation that would help more workers participate in pre-apprenticeship programs like the Union Construction Academy of Maine. LD 1117, An Act to Strengthen Maine's Workforce Through Certified Pre-apprenticeship Training Programs, sponsored by Rep. Kilton Webb (D-Durham), would provide state funds to support expansion of pre-apprenticeship programs. The bill also allows programs to use Maine Apprenticeship Program grants to cover pre-apprentice’s membership fees, tools, personal protective equipment and other costs that present obstacles for workers to be successful.

LD 1117 would require that at least 51 percent of total grant funding be used to support pre-apprenticeship programs that train individuals from historically marginalized communities and place them in registered apprenticeship programs that lead to jobs that pay a total compensation of at least $35 per hour, indexed for inflation.

Speaking in favor of the bill, Rep. Webb described his own experience learning his trade through an electrical apprenticeship program with IBEW 567 and how it helped him start a well-paying career.

“Pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships are a key method for us to get more people into the trades,” he said. “The best way for you to learn a trade is by going out day after day and working beside somebody who has decades of experience doing that work."

Maine AFL-CIO Apprentice Director Sam Boss told the committee stories about a UCA graduate who had been couch surfing and living in her car after years of struggling in low-wage jobs. After completing the month-long UCA training program, she got a job at Cives Steel in Augusta where she is working as a welder and earning good wages. Boss described a young man who had not received any job offers despite graduating at the top of his class from a technical institute. He excelled at the UCA, which helped him get hired at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

"By providing a direct pathway into the workforce for folks who haven’t had opportunities to explore opportunities in the trades in the past, our pre-apprenticeship is a great asset to employers that are struggling to fill critical positions," said Boss. "]ust as importantly, pre-apprenticeship has proved to be life changing for our graduates."