On 5th Apprenticeship Awareness Day, Tartaglione Says New Laborers Key to Better PA

by | June 9, 2015 | News Releases

HARRISBURG, June 9, 2015 – Before a sea of colored t-shirts donned by union apprentices, state Sen. Christine Tartaglione once again celebrated the 5th Annual Apprenticeship Awareness Day today in the Capitol Rotunda.

Known throughout Pennsylvania as a leading supporter of labor unions, Tartaglione said apprentices are learning great skills that will help turn around local and regional economies.

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“From our roads and bridges to our building structures, we have a lot of work to do if we want Pennsylvania to remain competitive nationally and globally,” Tartaglione said. “The apprentices, workers, coordinators and instructors standing with me here are the ones who are going to help us achieve this.

“They are the heartbeat of this commonwealth and they represent our future progress.”

Apprenticeship Awareness Day is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Apprentice Coordinators Association. Apprentice programs are operated by the Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council.

While the pay for apprentices is somewhat less than that of “journeymen,” PACA says apprentices receive pay increases as they advance through their programs. Some increases happen every six months or every year.

The state Department of Labor and Industry says there are about 11,000 active apprenticeships in Pennsylvania; about 7,700 of those are in a construction-related trade.

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Follow Sen. Christine Tartaglione on Facebook and her website.

Tartaglione Lauds Construction Trades’ Apprentice Program, Urges Young Workers to Get Involved

by | June 10, 2014 | News Releases

HARRISBURG, June 10, 2014 – With hundreds of union workers filling the Capitol Rotunda today, state Sen. Christine Tartaglione applauded the apprentice program operated by the Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council and urged students and others to participate.

In the next 20 years, Sen. Tartaglione said Pennsylvania’s construction industry will need about 50,000 new workers to replace the men and women who today are masons, electricians, glaziers, pipe layers and roofers.

“The people who will make up that new workforce are right here,” Tartaglione said during a rally held by the council. “They are the apprentices, the coordinators, the constructors and members of the building trades unions that are gathered here today.

“Union apprenticeship programs lead to good-paying, long-lasting, successful career in the construction industry where there is a high demand for skilled workers now and in the future.”

There are about 7,000 construction apprentices registered in Pennsylvania today and 82 percent of them, or 6,570, are unionized construction apprentices, officials said.

“Without new workers to fill openings in the industry, we will not be able to continue the important and necessary work,” Tartaglione said. “Union apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship training programs make sense because they offer a promising career for young people and they graduate into available jobs and good wages.”

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Follow Sen. Christine Tartaglione on Facebook and her website.