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ARLINGTON, VA – The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC), which represents 2,000 contractor firms in the union construction and maintenance industry, is pleased with the final rule released today by the Department of Labor (DOL) regarding Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs, or IRAPs.
"The Department of Labor did the right thing by completely excluding the construction industry from the final rule," said TAUC CEO Steve Lindauer. "This means DOL will not recognize any IRAPs that are intended to train apprentices in construction-related activities. The Department correctly concluded that the construction industry is already well-served by the current privately funded registered apprenticeship system administered jointly by union labor and management. Today's rule ensures that the 'gold standard' for apprenticeship training will remain in place for future generations of craftworkers and provide them with the safest, most extensive training available anywhere in the world."
TAUC is also pleased with how the final rule describes "construction activities" for the purposes of evaluating IRAPs.
"Construction is a complex and multi-faceted industry, and DOL's description reflects that reality," Lindauer added. "By specifically including terms like 'heavy construction,' 'installation,' 'maintenance' and 'repairs' in its description, the Department acknowledges modern construction's wide scope and ensures that those seeking to create lower quality construction-related IRAPs will not be able to exploit poorly worded loopholes."
ABOUT TAUC: The Association of Union Constructors is the premier national trade association for the 21st century union construction and maintenance industry. Our 2,000 member firms include union contractor companies, local union contractor associations and vendors in the industrial maintenance and construction fields. We demonstrate that union construction is the best option because it is safer and more productive, and provides a higher quality and cost-competitive product.