Contacting the Apprentice Program

Contractors, to see if your Journeymen have qualified for their June 1, 2013 raise, you should contact the Apprentice Program at (219) 525-4443 or via email at bac4apprenticeship@gmail.com.

View the letter from BAC Local 4 Indiana/Kentucky and the Indiana Mason Contractors Association [PDF]

Meetings of Joint Committee on Journeyman Training/Raise Issues Meeting

August 9, 2013 and November 14, 2013

Attendees: Dan Kwiatkowski, Ted Champ, Steve Knowles, Evan Sutton, Steve Hunter, Paul Nysewander, Mike Berrisford

The committee decided to first identify the issues/problems with implementing the clause in the SUA requiring Journeyman to take 8 hours of training per year to qualify for the raises scheduled for 6/1/13 and beyond.  After the issues have been identified the committee will try to resolve each issue.

Issues

1. How will the training being conducted by the contractors be tracked?
2. Do Safety Meetings on job sites qualify for the 8 hour requirement?
3. If a member doesn’t take training the first year but does in the second year, what pay rate will they be paid at?
4. If a member doesn’t take the required training until after the June 1 raise effective date when will the increase go into effect?
5. If travelers from other states come to Indiana what pay scale do they fall under?  (They may have training from their home area that we are not aware of?)
6. How will contractors pay the member if a member doesn’t get the required training but part of the raise is allocated to benefits?  (Everyone has to pay the same benefit amounts.)
7. How can IMCA help in seeing that this clause is enforced fairly and across the board?
8. How can IMCA ensure that all contractors will accept the training that is agreed upon by this joint committee?
9. If a member doesn’t get the required training they will be punished by not getting their raise, how will contractors be punished if they don’t administer this clause fairly?
10. It seems that everything that has to be monitored or enforced is always left up to the Union.  How will IMCA help in enforcing this clause?
11. If a member takes only 4 hours of training do they get 50% of the next raise?
12. Who will track the training?
13. Does this clause apply to Apprentices as well as Journeymen?
14. How will members report training they have taken on their own?
15. What classes count toward meeting the 8 hour upgrade training requirement?

Resolution

How will the training being conducted by the contractors be tracked?

A simple reporting form will be developed allowing contractors to report training they conduct to be reported.  A certificate or copy of this form could/should be furnished to the member and sent to the apprentice office.

Do Safety Meetings on job sites qualify for the 8 hour requirement?

No.

If a member doesn’t take training the first year but does in the second year, what pay rate will they be paid at?

There seemed to be a consensus that if the member doesn’t take training in one year but does in the next that he should be paid at the current wage scale.  There was concern that people would work the system so that they could get the current wage rate by waiting until the new year to get 8 hours of upgrade training to get the current wage rate.  Several members of the committee said that any member doing this has already been penalized because they were paid at the old rate for an entire year. 

If a member doesn’t take the required training until after the June 1 raise effective date when will the increase go into effect?

Immediately.  (Does this mean on the next paycheck or starting with the next pay period?)  Consensus, the raise should go into effect the next pay period.

If travelers from other states come to Indiana what pay scale do they fall under?  (They may have training from their home area that we are not aware of?)

At the lower pay scale until they can prove that they have gotten 8 hours of upgrade training.  (If this happens in year four of the contract what wage scale would they be paid at?  Do we go all the way back to the 6/1/12 wage scale or the wage scale from the preceding year?)  Consensus, the wage scale from the previous year should be used.

How will contractors pay the member if a member doesn’t get the required training but part of the raise is allocated to benefits?  (Everyone has to pay the same benefit amounts.)  There were two thoughts on this subject.

1. The fringe benefit increases will be paid (because they have to be) and those increases will have to be taken off of the member’s paycheck.
2. The fringe benefit increases will be paid (because they have to be) and the member will actually receive a raise to the extent of the benefit increases.

Contractors should consult with their attorneys before determining which approach they want to take.

How can IMCA help in seeing that this clause is enforced fairly and across the board?

Besides communicating the decisions and ground rules set down by this Joint Committee to their members the IMCA Board will support enforcement of the ground rules by their participation on the Joint Arbitration Committee.

How can IMCA ensure that all contractors will accept the training that is agreed upon by this joint committee?

Besides communicating the decisions and ground rules set down by this Joint Committee to their members the IMCA Board will support enforcement of the ground rules by their participation on the Joint Arbitration Committee.

If a member doesn’t get the required training they will be punished by not getting their raise, how will contractors be punished if they don’t administer this clause fairly?

Besides communicating the decisions and ground rules set down by this Joint Committee to their members the IMCA Board will support enforcement of the ground rules by their participation on the Joint Arbitration Committee.

It seems that everything that has to be monitored or enforced is always left up to the Union.  How will IMCA help in enforcing this clause?

By IMCA’s continuing participation on this Joint Committee and through decisions handed down by the Joint Arbitration Committee on violations of the training clause of the contract.  Monitoring and tracking the upgrade training will be done by the Apprentice Program, a jointly trusted organization funded by contractor/member contributions.

If a member takes only 4 hours of training do they get 50% of the next raise?

No.  The requirement in the contract is that a member must receive 8 hours of training to obtain the next raise. There was a consensus that there would be some leeway here.  For example: If a class is supposed to last 8 hours and is finished in 7 ½ hours the committee felt the member should get credit for the 8 hours.

The question was also asked if someone took a 40 hour welding class if that would satisfy their 8 hour training requirement for the next five years.  The answer was no.  The 8 hour requirement is per year to be taken during the year.

Who will track the training?

The Apprentice Program seems to be the most logical choice to track the training.  The comment was made that the Union was once again responsible for monitoring the program.  It was pointed out that the Contractors feel that they are the ones paying for the apprentice program.  It was agreed that the apprentice program is a joint program of the Union and Contractors.

Does this clause apply to Apprentices as well as Journeymen?

It was determined that this clause of the contract should apply to apprentices as well as journeymen.  (It was unclear to me whether that meant that the apprentices had to take training in addition to their apprentice classes or not.)  The consensus was that apprentices have to take one of the approved classes even if that class isn’t offered as a part of the regular apprentice program curriculum.

How will members report training they have taken on their own?

If a member takes online or some other type of training they will be responsible for obtaining a certificate of completion and sending a copy to the apprentice office.

What classes count toward meeting the 8 hour upgrade training requirement?

A separate list of the approved classes and the number of hours of credit for each class is posted below.

There was discussion of this list of classes.  There was some objection to Steward Training and Comet classes by the Contractors.  The Union feels that both of these classes should count.  In particular, they feel that a good steward can make jobs run smoother with less friction and with more productivity.  The Contractors were willing to accept these classes as long only 8 hours of these classes would count every five years (length of the current contract).  Some of these classes were added to the original list provided by the Union.

It is also understood by the Joint Committee that this list is not exhaustive and that other classes will have to be added later.  It was felt, however, that classes would have to be approved by the Joint Committee in order to count towards the 8 hour requirement.

It was generally agreed that this Joint Committee would continue to meet to 1) Add/approve additional classes as they are proposed, 2) Rule on Disputes and Issues that arise from the administration of this contract clause and, 3) Make other decisions as required.

Approved Upgrade Classes

Please contact the apprentice program about adding classes to this list at (219) 525-4443 or via email at bac4apprenticeship@gmail.com.