Regulating the industry

Unions push for trade licenses

But how far will contractors bend?

By Jeremy Harrell
Daily Reporter Staff

"Overrestrictions make it difficult for people to enter the trades." Jim Boullion Government Affairs Director Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin

In the last year, Wisconsin unions have made it clear that mandatory state certification and licenses are a top priority, and they’re willing to go toe to toe with contractors to prove their point.

“In a nutshell, it’s for the betterment of the construction industry,” said Leon Burzynski, business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 494 in Milwaukee, which union is backing a mandatory certification bill for electrical contractors and their employees. “Education is something that has to happen because the nature of the industry is changing.”

Many union leaders agreed that mandated licenses and certification is where the construction industry is heading. They pointed out that manicurists, barbers and chiropractors all require state licenses, even though those occupations never involve swinging heavy loads over sidewalks or wiring homes for potentially dangerous electricity.

What’s more, the industry has in the last decade changed dramatically with the influx of new technology, sophisticated equipment and a host of new rules, guidelines and building codes. The only way to stay responsibly and safely in step with all the changes is to ensure that workers know what they’re doing.

And the best way to do that is to get the state involved, said Brent Emons, business manager for Iron Workers Union Local 8 in Milwaukee. The ironworkers and operating engineers union tried and failed to include a licensing measure in last year’s state budget bill, and the battle could continue in 2002, he said.

“You need a license to drive to the job site, but once you get to the job site there’s no testing or anything,” Emons said. “Anybody can build a bridge or a domed stadium or a high rise. If there’s no criteria — no testing — you’re waiting for disaster.”
New tools, new industry

New equipment helps workers do their jobs more quickly and efficiently, but the new tools come with their own training requirements and specifications. From hydraulic lifts to new methods of tying off ironworkers to prevent fall injuries, the industry is coping with a kind of basic complexity that’s truly putting the “skilled” in skilled worker, Burzynski said.

If the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 gets its way, any driver working the controls of this American 5299 friction crane will have to carry a state certification. The operating engineers are one of three unions in Wisconsin pushing for mandatory licenses and certifications for their trades. This crane is part of the operating engineers’ training facility in Coloma, where members learn techniques to help them pass the nationally recognized crane test that would serve as the backbone of the state’s certification system. Click thumbnail for larger image

“We’re not just narrowly focused on what used to be back-breaking work,” he said. “We’ve raised the construction industry to a highly technical level.”

Certifying workers on a regular basis will help maintain proficiency with all the equipment, removing risk from the workers and their employers as well as from the public that walk by job sites and ultimately use the buildings, Burzynski said.

A technically evolving work place is just as true for the electrician as it is for the crane operator, said Dale Miller, business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 in Pewaukee. As was shown during the construction of Miller Park in Milwaukee, cranes now lift loads of more than 400 tons, something unheard of even a few short years ago, he said.
“It’s a piece of machinery that takes experience,” Miller said. “It’s a safety thing. These are big jobs in public places. At least a guy should have some kind of training.”

But contractors worry that stringent training and education requirements would erect a “daunting” wall and keep potential workers from entering the trades, said Jim Boullion, government affairs director for the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin. His association favors hiring workers first and then letting them learn the necessary experience on the job with proper supervision.

“Overrestrictions make it difficult for people to enter the trades,” Boullion said. “The goals (unions) are talking about we agree with. At some point, though, you don’t need the government to do everything for you.”

Market forces

Burzynski, Miller and Emons all said the push for certification and licensing stems from a need to provide safety and assurance for consumers and the public. Mandatory licensing for ironworkers in Wisconsin, for instance, would prevent out-of-state contractors from using unskilled labor in this state, Emons said.

It would also place the same kind of protections on commercial construction that most homeowners seek when building a home, he said.

“When you have your house built, don’t you want to make sure (all the workers) are licensed?” Emons said.

Mandatory state oversight would also help weed out contractors that might not place as much emphasis on safety and education, Miller said. For every conscientious contractor, there are others who might skirt their responsibilities, he said.

“You have a lot of good contractors, but you always have shysters who don’t give a damn about the people working for them,” Miller said. “We believe in training guys right. Without the state getting involved, you’ve got those shysters.”

But the marketplace might be motivation enough for contractors to properly train their workers, Boullion said. With rising insurance payments, a looming labor shortage and other bottom-line concerns to protect, “every incentive in the world is out there for contractors to not have improperly trained workers,” he said.

“The things that make licensing effective are the training and safety guidelines,” Boullion said. “We think you don’t need licenses to achieve those goals.”

He also drew a distinction between haircutters and construction workers because the former class of worker is directly responsible for liability and damages, while construction companies carry the risks for their employees.

“Our take is that it’s not those workers who are held responsible; it’s the contractors who have to pay for damages and fix problems that occur,” Boullion said. “We’re not endorsing contractor certification now, but we’d be more interested in discussing it from that angle.”

Workers have more on-the-job responsibility than ever before, however, and Burzynski said he thinks getting the state involved in training and education is a market force contractors can’t resist for much longer.

“I’m as concerned as anyone that government doesn’t need to regulate something else,” he said. “But this is where the government should be involved. Here, if something goes wrong, you could have tragic consequences. How many do we have to kill before we say, ‘We need to regulate this?’”

| Main | Editor's Note | Story Index | Directory |
| Links | Special Sections Main | Daily Reporter Main |

© 2002 Daily Reporter Publishing Co., All Rights Reserved.