Urgent: Call for Action - Apprenticeship Law

NYSpeed Automotive NYSpeed Off Topic
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From: BuffaloRising.com

SIGN THIS PETITION: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/VoteNOEC/petition.html

UPDATE:
Tomorrow, the Erie County Legislature is expected to attempt to override County Executive Giambra’s veto of Local Law 1-1 (2006), which would require all contractors doing business with Erie County to have a New York State Department of Labor-approved worker training program in place. If you’d like to see the veto of Local Law 1-1 sustained, contact these legislators before Thursday’s 2 p.m. session.

[email=“DrBarry15@erie.gov”]Legislator Barry Weinstein | 716.633.0617 § 716.633.0618 (f)
[email=“loughran@erie.gov”]Legislator Tom Loughran | 716.836.0198 § 716.836.0199 (f)
[email=“iannello@erie.gov”]Legislator Michelle Iannello | 716.858.6757 § 716.858.8895 (f)

                                                                         The Erie County Legislature will vote next week to override the veto of County Executive Giambra, and pass a law requiring all bidders on County construction projects to have a NYSDOL-approved apprenticeship-training program. This law, supported by trade unions, will exclude virtually all non-union bidders from County projects, and some union firms.

Supporters of the law claim the legislation will lead to a more qualified and skilled labor force. However, only 4% of construction trainees nationwide are enrolled in formal apprenticeship trainee programs. Many workers are trained with on the job training, under the guidance of senior workers, or with classroom training. A NYSDOL apprenticeship program does not equate better training. It simply limits the type of training acceptable for County projects, thereby restricting who can work on these projects.

For example, a construction worker with 20 years experience would be banned from working on future County projects because he or she never went through a NYSDOL apprenticeship program. Under the archaic NYS apprenticeship model, small businesses, including MBEs (minority business enterprise) and WBEs (women business enterprise), cannot meet the stringent requirements of a NYS registered apprentice program. Implementing this requirement will erode any attempts to increase the opportunities for small local contractors.

A study done in September 2000 by Engineering and Management Consultant Paul G. Carr concluded that for every lost bid on a project, the resulting increase in cost is 3.228%. So, for a $10 million project, every potential bidder that is lost will result in a $320,000 increase in cost. If 5 potential bidders are lost because of restrictive requirements they cannot meet, taxpayers will pay $1,500,000 more for the project.

There are alternatives to this law. Associated Builders and Contractors, a group of merit-shop construction firms has offered to meet with the County Legislature to help them draft a law that would ensure future workers are properly trained, while still guaranteeing honest, competitive bidding on County construction projects. However, this offer has fallen on deaf ears, as the supporters of this legislation are also major campaign contributors to Legislators.

Concerned citizens need to contact their legislator NOW to let them know that the citizens of Erie County support fair competition. This law is being imposed to benefit a few, at a cost to all. Please contact your legislator by phone, fax, or email and let them know that you support fair competition, and encourage them to vote AGAINST the apprenticeship law as it is currently written.

http://www.erie.gov/legislature/legislators.asp

SIGN THIS PETITION:http://www.PetitionOnline.com/VoteNOEC/petition.html

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Most public buildings in WNY are built by union companies.
In other words, tax payers are paying rediculously high amounts of money for buildings.
It’s your money, do you want to pay $10million for a $5million building?

These unions are strong because they have very little competition because of the way the laws are written here.

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I wrote my legislators about this two weeks ago…

This is probably a done deal, but it wont hurt to voice our opinion.

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It actually hurts to agree with Giambra, but I do on this.

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Bump… everyone that hates buffalo so much, sign the fucking petition.

See, you don’t even have to get off your lazy fucking asses to try and make a little change around here.

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Bump :tup:

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Signed.

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done

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thats rediculous. yeah I agree with giambra on his veto.

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The petition link is dead.

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Signed

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Fuck all of you if you did some research you would know that if you havnt went through an approved apprentiship then you would have to pay out rate to your workers, that is the real reason non union contractors dont bid govn’t funded jobs they would have to double the pay of there workforce. All you anti union assholes take one or two bad examples and use them to try to prove how bad the union is, have you ever thought “yeah maybe it costs more to build the $10 building but thats an extra $5 million into the people who live in that areas pockets and not into big buisness owners who really dont need it.” But youre right do away with unions so all those familys go from making $50k a year down to $24k thats enough to raise a family on right, and hey guess where the other $26k goes into the owners hands, you are fucking idiots it makes me sick.

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Like the places that are going out of buisness because they can not compete with the unions :bloated:. Unions USE to be necessary back in the day before fair wage laws and what not, but are not anymore.

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iam sick of seeing the union guys protesting at the eastern hills mall.we get it its over with go find new work

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Unions are half the problem with corruption in local government. Unions pay off the lawmakers to pass legislation in such as this, therefore ensuring that they will get the work, and ensuring that the County will get ripped off by paying twice as much for the work. This effectively comes back to all of the residents through higher TAXES, which we ALL know about.

Who benefits from all of this? The unions!

I don’t think I would complain either if i was getting $40/hour for a $20/hour job!

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well how bout this, any government funded job all employers must pay union scale weither its a union or non union job so therefore the cost is the same no matter what, but if the workers are in a state certified apprentiship you can have apprentices on the job making less then rate because of there apprentice status. the reason non union companies dont bid state or federal jobs is because they would have to double or triple there employees wages. And without a union there would be a situation like there is here in florida a million small companies hiring uneducated people and paying them $8 an hour for a position that should be making $30. When people make even $15 an hour for a job they know is worth double that they just dont care shit takes twice as long to get done and they dont give a shit about what they are doing. if you saw the difference you would agree its fucking sad when an employer bills at the standard $65 an hour and the worker gets $10 are you that fucking retarded employers making there guys work 12 hours a day 6 days a week so they can afford rent. Just to clarify for you UNION AND NON UNION OWNERS BILL OUT BETWEEN $60-70 AN HOUR UNION WORKERS GET $30 AND BENEFITS WHILE NON UNION GET $10 AND HAVE TO PAY BENEFITS OUT OF POCKET. Yet another way the rich get richer and the poor poorer.

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WOW, my blood is boiling after reading this post!
I don’t have time to respond right now but beleive me, I will later.
The ignorance is so frustrating!
I don’t mean that in a mean way, I just mean someone filled your head with socialist poison!
You are obviously against the free market economy that built this nation.
More later…

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Ok at least this for now…

IF SOMEONE WILL DO A JOB FOR $8/HOUR IT IS NOT A $30/HOUR JOB!!!

I REPEAT…

IF SOMEONE WILL DO A JOB FOR $8/HOUR IT IS NOT A $30/HOUR JOB!!!

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i disagree with this as a general statement.

however, I think it would be an interesting experiment to pay non-union workers the same wage (minus calculated union dues)/compensation package and see if quality & production increase.

The problem with doing away with unions for people like autoworkers (or other low/semi skilled work) is, for example:

union guy makes $30/hr (62,400 yr straight)
guy off the street non-union wants work will do it for $10 (20,800 yr straight)

are either those wages fair? No. The job is probably worth $20-23/hr. (~$45k straight) People making items that make other people rich shouldn’t be kept poor. Middle class, sure. Then it’s up to them b/c they’ll have the economic ability to either save, invest, etc… to move out of the middle class. Or at the least support a family so that their children can move out of the middle class.

Personally I’m a fan of insentive work…Go ahead and pay someone $10/hr and offer a real insentive program where if the job is done well then they’re going to be looking at $23/hr. Keeps quality & production up w/o over-paying underperforming employees.

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THEY FAILED TO GET THE VOTES TODAY.

http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=36215

:tup: to people being involved in politics and letting your representatives know where you stand.

It’s gone back to committee, where hopefully it will die or at least be heavily revised. I’m all for trying to keep jobs here, but you can’t do it at the expense of cutting 1/2 or more of the companies out of the bidding process, especially when the bids will ultimately be paid directly by our tax dollars.

I have problems with unions in the private sector, but I have EXTREME HATRED for unions in the public sector. In government union’s organization puts the people in office who end up negotiating their contracts. A perfect example is Byron Brown. Anyone notice Byron has been all over the news talking about finding a way to lift the raise freeze. What a shock that he was the union endorsed candidate. They got him into office, and now he’s going to cut them another contract that the city of Buffalo can’t afford. It’s too bad to because what I’ve seen of him otherwise has been positive, but if he bows down to the union heads he will do far more damage to the city that he will ever do good.