BAC Urges Department of Labor to Protect Apprenticeship Standards

Washington, DC – President of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) Timothy J. Driscoll issued the following statement on protecting apprenticeship standards: 

Registered union apprenticeship programs are the gold standard for job training, built on authentic, time-tested joint labor-management partnerships that are fiercely dedicated to teaching young men and women eager to master a skilled trade.

While the Department of Labor’s goal to train one million new apprentices is laudable, its recent guidance signals a dangerous push to lower registration standards to hit that target. Weakening these standards will not expand real opportunity—it will only open the floodgates for abuse.

We have seen reports detailing the cost of lax oversight where predatory, for-profit schools exploited loopholes in the GI Bill, to charge exorbitant tuition for worthless training, defrauding taxpayers of over $300 million and leaving veterans empty-handed. Lowering the bar for registered apprenticeships risks similar abuses. To protect both public funds and the next generation of tradespeople, we must defend rigorous training standards against any effort to dilute program quality. 

“We cannot allow veterans' hard-earned benefits or the integrity of our workforce system to be compromised by bad actors," said BAC President Tim Driscoll. "True apprenticeship isn't just about hitting a spreadsheet target; it's about providing rigorous, high-quality training that keeps workers safe and builds our nation. We urge the Department of Labor to strengthen, not weaken, the oversight of registered apprenticeships."