City of Tampa Workshops Apprenticeship Requirement on Public Construction
With the belief that they are helping create training opportunities and struggling city residents , on December 3rd , 2020 , the City Council of Tampa met to formulate a proposed city ordinance that requires 12 % of labor hours apply to apprenticeships for public vertical construction of $ 1M or more .
During the workshop , opponents and proponents offered comments and opinions regarding the proposal that was brought forth by Councilman Luis Viera . The proponents ’, made up largely by union representatives and community activists , views included : Apprenticeship is awesome ; Apprenticeship give people skills while making an income ; And , apprenticeship will give opportunities to impoverished communities . The opponents made up of construction associations and employers offered the following arguments : This proposal is punitive by excluding bidders who cannot meet the new requirement ; Our industry already has apprenticeships and other training programs ; Not all construction professions have apprenticeship programs and the city does not require apprenticeships of their own workers currently . The construction industry did also explain our support of workforce education and apprenticeship programs in general , just not when it is punitive .
The City Councilors are fully invested and supportive of the proposal , even though they are clearly not aware of what constitutes an actual apprenticeship program . There was much discussion
14 DITCHMEN • JANUARY 2021