Íæż½ã½ã CEO Stephen Sandherr and members of Íæż½ã½ã’s Government Affairs staff met with US Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh on November 10 to discuss top industry priorities including, among other things, addressing the workforce shortage through skills training and attracting individuals to the construction industry as well as the importance of job site safety.
Íæż½ã½ã has long been advocating for increased federal education investments, primarily through Perkins funding for Career and Technical Education (CTE) and asked Walsh to work with the US Department of Education and Congress to increase funding to better align with individual school district’s needs. Íæż½ã½ã also took the opportunity to highlight the challenges the industry will have in meeting rigid apprenticeship utilization mandates and asked the DOL to work with other agencies and the industry to allow more contractors to compete for clean and green energy projects.
On job site safety, Íæż½ã½ã praised the Department and OSHA for its work on trenching safety and encouraged the agency to better prioritize mental health and suicide prevention in the industry. Íæż½ã½ã has been advocating for those programs to be included in future OSHA training programs. Íæż½ã½ã did take the opportunity to highlight the challenges with a one-size-fits-all national heat standard.
Íæż½ã½ã looks forward to working with the Labor Department while ensuring the industry is not burdened with overly complex and punitive regulations that stifle the growth of the industry.