AUGUSTA, Maine — A bill that would seek to change rules concerning the number of apprentices and helpers that experienced electricians may supervise drew both praise and criticism at a public hearing Tuesday.
The bill, proponents said, is aimed at stemming what many see as a looming shortage of skilled electricians in the state — a problem facing many skilled trades — and would get more people into the training pipeline. Opponents, however, cast the bill as an attempt to flood the market with cheap labor.
LD 1833 would allow a journeyman or master electrician to supervise two apprentices or helpers if they are enrolled in or have completed a training program. Currently, they are allowed to supervise only one.
The bill also would remove the $96 fee required for students to get a helper’s license to enroll in a high school electrical program. There was little debate on this provision at a public hearing in the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee. Those testifying noted that the $96 fee was a deterrent for students who want to check out a possible career as an electrician. Under the proposal, they only would have to pay that fee if they decided to work in a nonstudent capacity — during the summer, for example.
But the proposal to change the ratio of apprentices or helpers to experienced workers drew some debate.
“By changing this ratio, we would effectively be putting master and journeyman electricians out of work,” said Don Berry, president of the Maine AFL-CIO and a master electrician. “This bill, like many others in this session, attacks workers at a time the economy is at its worst.”
Under questioning by State Rep. John Tuttle, D-Sanford, Berry explained that he was concerned the bill would allow companies to use more lower-paid electricians to fill needs, flooding the market with cheap labor.
Allan Shepard, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Maine, asked what the ratio of helpers and apprentices to more experienced electricians had to do with boosting enrollment in training programs.
“It is nothing more than a veiled attempt to dilute the standards of the workplace and an assault on working electricians,” he said.
James Cote, president and CEO of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Maine, said basic demographics were leading the profession to problems. He cited federal statistics suggesting that employment of electricians should grow by 12 percent between 2008 and 2018, largely due to increased electrical needs. At the same time, he said, Maine’s work force is getting older. Nearly 40 percent of Maine’s licensed master and journeyman electricians are 55 years old or older.
“The Associated Builders and Contractors of Maine believe that one of the most effective ways we can increase the pool of qualified electricians is if we change public policy to encourage more helpers and apprentices to work under journeyman and master electricians,” he said. “We also believe it is essential that we tie this ratio change to a policy that ensures these ‘electrician-elects’ will climb the education ladder and move on to become journeyman and master electricians.”
Michael Bennett, vice president of health, safety, environmental and human services at Cianbro Corp., argued that increasing the ratio would not create a safety issue for apprentice and helper electricians working under the supervision of a more experienced tradesman.
“Regardless of the ratio, no one should ever be placed into a situation where they are not competent to perform the work, period,” he said.
Bennett, responding to a question from Tuttle, said Cianbro currently is having difficulties finding electricians to hire in Maine.
The committee is expected to hold a work session on the bill on Thursday.
Any effort in Augusta to change anything at all brings out either A) Unions claiming it is an attack on workers. B) Environmentalists claiming it is an attack on the environment. C) Welfare industry beneficiary groups protecting their jobs. D) Progressive groups just plain fighting to keep Maine under its thumb. E) All of the above, if they don’t have anything else to do that day.
This does not impact just union electricians, it would put non-union electricians out of work, too.
Ditch the agenda, look at the reality.
Who sponsored this bill and who is Lobbying for it?
Rep. Andre Cushing (R – Hampden) presented the bill with several co-sponsors (http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1833&snum=125) and the bill is being pushed by non-union contractors because it only increases the ratio for helpers, not apprentices. Read it here: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_125th/billtexts/HP135301.asp
Some body is looking for cheaper labor.
If you want more Qualified Electricians,
Pay them, and they will come!
Cheaper labor… Is Augusta thinking to bring in workers from China?
Future BDN headline: Fatal fire caused by faulty wiring
bull,their are 150 year old houses out there that do just fine and they didnt have codes then
Yeah, but those Civil War electricians knew their stuff !
The most dangerous man I ever worked around was a licensed master electrician.
I have applied for helpers electrician, but them jobs are like tumble weeds inpossible to get and it all due to not training a newbie probably. so I blame fail state, fail requirements fail society and it all about who know and puff
Hope you did a little better filling out the application than you did here.
Needs to repeat when sober.
Republicans are certainly a different breed of cat. They want to dumb down the electrical trade with cheap unqualified labor, then attack the ever growing welfare recipients when they have to supplement their low wage income to feed their families. They taught dogs how to chase their tails. They are an embarassment to a forward moving America.
I am taking courses at SMCC currently to get an electrical engineering technology degree. While I am not in the field yet I hope this opens more opportunity in the state I take pride in calling home. Apprentice ships are a great alternative to traditional higher education and provide invaluable resources to this sate. Good on ya.
The reason Cianbro can’t find qualified electricians is because they do not pay a competitive salary and like to screw their employees over. Cianbro and many other corporations are going to find themselves in a world of hurt if they cheat their workers out of pay!!!
Apprentice or helper? You mean that someone won’t
have to get a PhD to become an electrician? Isn’t being
an apprentice a step in becoming a licensed electrician?
Don’t helpers do the grunt stuff like get tools and run wire?
Don’t the electricians do the actual electrical work like connections
and wiring of panels etc.? Why is this cheap labor? I applaud any
electrician who takes on an apprentice or two to train and teach
them the profession.
Actually, an apprentice can make connections and so most of the work, provided it is reviewed by the Master.
Yes, I won’t disagree with your comment. I would expect
and apprentice to do such things, that is why the person
is in training. I don’t think a person just being used as
a helper would be doing such things. Maybe I am looking
at them as two different types of work titles. I know a few
electricians who employ “helpers” who aren’t allowed to
make any connection. These helpers aren’t considered
apprentices.
I don’t think you know much about the trade. Both helpers or apprentices are on the road to becoming Journeymen. Both do grunt work (or should do the grunt work), but both can perform any task on the site, from pulling wire to landing connections on a transformer or in a PLC cabinet. All their work is supposed to be reviewed by the Journeyman who is responsible for the quality of that work.
You are correct. I don’t know “much” about
the trade but I do know what a “helper” and
an apprentice is.
Maine State Plumbing Code
” Supervision of trainee plumber. A master or journeyman plumber may not
have more than 3 trainee plumbers working under the master or journeyman plumber’s
direct supervision.”
More Union double speak. Does the Union feel this waters down the plumbing work force as well? (pun intended) I’m quite sure they take full advantage of this law on their job sites.
When a trainee plumber makes a mistake, does it start a fire? Burn out an expensive motor? Electrocute someone? No. They’re different trades, so they have different rules.
Please explain how it’s union double speak, anyway? These are state rules, not union rules.
Hot on the left , cold on the right, paychecks on Thursday!
Now your a plumber!
“Hot on the left, cold on the right, and s*** runs downhill.” You forgot the most important part!
Here the repubs dance to the tune of Cianbro and the corporate lobbying group, the AGC. The results are more profit for the corporations, less money in the workers pockets. Simple race to the bottom for the workers.
This state is so screwed up ,i personally know of a situation where a guy let his Maine license lapse because he was working out of state and never planned on returning, but had to for family reasons and the Hell he had to go through to his Maine license back was ridiculous, from this stupid board of power freak minons ,they need to be reigned in, also you could break into Seabrook easier than you could take a masters test ,no hats allowed, no cells,but you can read from the book ,absolutley stupid.why is it huge states in this country, can have no state laws just some local laws and they get along just fine, but this state is regulated to death with inspector boards ,its nothing but a money scam .Blow it up Lepage and start over.
This bill doesn’t raise the number of apprentices that can be supervised by a journeyman, only the number of helpers. It’s not an attempt to put more people in to the pipeline, it’s an attempt to give non-union contractors a leg up. But don’t take my word for it, read the bill: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_125th/billtexts/HP135301.asp
Scott, I agree with most of your comments, allowing a janitor/Helper to come in and run all the wire in a commerical building just because a contractor is a licienced Electrician doesn’t make much sense….
Looks like another ALEC bill has found its way to the floor of the statehouse. A primer for those who do not know the hallmarks of ALEC bills: if the bill looks like it diminishes wages and protections for working people so that large corporations might be able to exploit them, it is probably an ALEC bill. These bills are written by corporations as a kind of wish list. Now that anti-worker legislatures and governors abound, they are becoming codified in law.
Maine now has an anti-worker legislature and governor. Try as you may to hold on to your wallets, this crowd wants to take you out at the knees. They offer a 1% tax reduction and wages in free-fall. If working people really support this approach to government, they are paving the way to their own demise. I think Mainers are smarter than that and that they will excise this cancer at the first opportunity.
I don’t see what the big deal is. I just wired my house (every switch, outlet, etc.) and had no prior experience as an electrician. I did get some advice from a person who’s a retired electrician, so I know that I did it right. There’s nothing tricky about residential wiring, provided that you’re careful and have lots of patience. Anyone who’s willing to put in the effort can do a fine job, whether they’ve jumped through hoops to get an official license or not. Industrial wiring is a different story, at least from my reading of the NEC.
One mind —six hands!
When you are building that new dream house or retirement home you have always wanted and see a electrian come in with a handfull of High School Students (summer Jobs) to wire your house, how confident will that make you feel??? In between texting/sexting and listening their mp3 players you will be reassured your toaster will trigger the ground fault when it gets wet. (-: Being a teaparty person myself I choose safety over making my electrical contractor a few more bucks and say, Drop this Bill Now!!!
Isn’t it fun to watch when your normally right-wing smallbusinesspeople (regulations stifle business!) get all protectionist? And blue-collar union workers join them? Let’s be honest – home wiring is not rocket science, but doing it wrong CAN kill you. And very quickly. So it needs to be checked and signed off. Which is what would happen under this bill.
I suspect the objections are more about that “flood” of “low cost labor”. Those workers would be your sons and daughters, though. Weren’t we trying to get young people into employment?
And who pays the current (apparently) inflated price for having highly-skilled journeymen do all the menial work? Well, that would be you and me. So their “hated” gov’t over-regulations result in an increased “tax” on Maine consumers.
Politics is so funny.
Seems quite obvious that it’s the left (AFLCIO, BEW) that want to keep people out of their racket.
This is a reasonable bill.
It should be passed into law.