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Governor Spitzer makes announcement on Apprenticeship Programs
8/30/2007

In a speech in Long Island on August 28, Governor Spitzer announced that the DOL is suspending the development and approval of apprenticeship training programs in all trades.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 28, 2007

GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES INITIATIVES TO STRENGTHEN WORKER RIGHTS

Governor Eliot Spitzer today delivered remarks at the Long Island Federation of Labor’s 17th Constitutional Convention, discussing initiatives his administration is undertaking to support the economic security of working New Yorkers and their families. He announced a thorough review of apprenticeship programs and highlighted the new, proactive efforts of the Department of Labor (DOL) to better enforce and protect worker rights.

Effective immediately, the DOL is suspending the development and approval of apprenticeship training programs in all trades. The addition of new participating employers to existing programs is also being suspended.

This action is being taken in an effort to overhaul the state's apprenticeship training programs, which have been diverted from its initial purpose. This program is supposed to allow employers or unions to provide workers with the essential skills necessary to practice their trade through hands-on work and classroom lessons. A cursory review of the program has revealed an unusually low graduation rate. Many programs were not graduating apprentices so as to keep them as a cheaper form of labor. During this moratorium, which will last up to one year, the DOL will undertake a comprehensive analysis of the procedure by which the state reviews apprenticeship programs and the performance of individual programs in order to better protect these workers’ right to fair compensation.

The Department of Labor is also overhauling its enforcement practices, creating new methods to enforce workers' rights more aggressively and proactively. In addition to its continued efforts to remedy safety problems and the failure of employers to pay lawful wages, the DOL has established the Bureau of Immigrant Workers' Rights, which will work tirelessly to reach underserved immigrant workers who are often the targets of abuses by employers. The DOL is also hiring ten new bilingual investigators to help ferret out the most egregious labor law violations throughout the state. In the first seven months of 2007, the Department collected over $4.5 million in minimum wage underpayments for 4,835 workers, an increase of nearly a $1 million compared with the same time period last year.

“As Labor Day approaches, we are reminded that every step forward for working families over the last 100 years -- from the right to unionize, to workers' compensation to prevailing wage and labor law enforcement -- came about with the support and leadership of this state's great labor movement,” said Governor Spitzer. “The economic security of countless New York families is intrinsically linked to the labor movement. My administration continues to honor that legacy - we have passed landmark workers’ compensation reforms and initiated a new workforce development strategy committed to improving the lives of hard working men and women across the state.”

Department of Labor Commissioner Patricia Smith said: “As we near Labor Day, let us reflect on the great contributions organized labor unions have made in the past and continue to make today for the betterment of our state’s most vital asset – our workers.”

President of the Long Island Federation of Labor, John R. Durso, said: “The Governor’s presence here today is evidence of what we in the Labor movement have known for years; that Eliot Spitzer supports Labor. The Governor understands that the organized labor movement is the driving force behind the economic stability and growth of all middle class New Yorkers. On behalf of the 250,000 union members represented here at this conference, I thank him for the support he has continued to show organized labor as the Attorney General and now as our Governor.”

In his speech, the Governor reiterated his commitment to workers’ rights and the enforcement of labor laws. During the first eight months of the Spitzer Administration, the DOL under the leadership of Commissioner Patricia Smith, has overhauled the Department of Labor and the Division of Labor Standards specifically into a strong, proactive force for labor law compliance throughout the state.

The Long Island Federation of Labor represents over 250,000 workers from over 135 diverse Long Island Local Unions.

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