Washington, D.C. – February 5, 2021 – Today, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement commending the House bipartisan passage of H.R. 447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021:

“North America’s Building Trades Unions applauds the bipartisan leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives on passing the National Apprenticeship Act to reauthorize the foundational law on which our apprenticeship programs are built. We appreciate their collaborative engagement on this critical legislation to maintain the Registered Apprenticeship system’s integrity and to ensure that the safety, well-being, and economic trajectory of apprentices are protected.

“Investing almost $2 billion in private capital annually in our Registered Apprenticeship programs, our joint labor-management programs have long been considered the gold standard of the Registered Apprenticeship system. Our vast network of over 1,600 U.S. teaching centers in almost every Congressional district across the country produces the safest, most highly-skilled and productive construction craft workers through the Registered Apprenticeship system and proves the Registered model works. With this new bill, Registered Apprenticeship will not only continue strengthening economic opportunities in every community, both large and small, across our great nation but will also open pathways for more industries to expand productive and highly-skilled workforces.

“We urge the Senate to quickly pass this important legislation so that President Biden can sign this bill into law and we can open more ladders of opportunity for American workers.”

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