Iowa State Sen. Tom Townsend has released the following statement on the effort to limit apprenticeship training in local contracts.
“Job site safety has been a concern of mine for my entire professional career,” Sen. Townsend (D-Dubuque) said. “The amendment offered to SF 603, which was sent over from the House, makes job sites less safe. Period.”
“Irresponsible, out-of-state contractors that come in and use untrained, unqualified workers put projects at risk and cost our communities millions when they have to be re-done, correctly,” Sen. Townsend said. “Apprenticeship programs, both union and non-union, produce high-quality workers who can do the job right the first time.”
“We’ve learned that this amendment may put federally funded community development block grants at risk in Iowa’s communities,” Sen. Townsend said. “This bill may have serious unintended consequences, but we’ve rushed it through the process on less than 24-hour notice and nobody can seem to explain why.”
Sen. Townsend serves on the Senate Workforce Committee.
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