May 9, 2017 - Minutes of Public Meetings - Apprenticeship and Training Council

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Mr. William C. Taylor called the Council meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. at the Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local No. 24 Joint Apprenticeship Committee, 901 Montgomery Street, Laurel, Maryland 20707 and welcomed all Council members, staff and guests in attendance. Mr. Brian Cavey welcomed the Council meeting to the Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local No. 24 facility where they have their offices and apprenticeship school.

PRESENT:

COUNCIL MEMBERS:
William C. Taylor - Chairperson, Public Representative
Jennifer D. Runkles - Public Representative
Brian S. Cavey – Employee Representative
Norbert R. Klusmann, Sr. - Employee Representative
David J. Wilson, SR.– Employee Representative
Leon W. Bromley - Employer Representative
Michelle L. Butt - Employer Representative
Edwin Cluster - Employer Representative
Grant B. Shmelzer - Employer Representative
David Smarte - Employer Representative

James Foti - USDL/OA Ex Officio Consultant to the Council

OTHERS:
James Rzepkowski - Assistant Secretary for Workforce Development and Adult Learning, DLLR
Brandon S. Butler - Deputy Assistant Secretary for Workforce Development and Adult Learning, DLLR
Christopher D. MacLarion – MATP
Kelton Addison - MATP
Gina Best - MATP
Lorella Dicks - MATP
André Keyser - MATP
Mark Millen - MATP
Jane Sinclair - MATP
John P. Taylor - MATP
John F. Vontran - MATP
Wallace Beal, Jr. – Goodwill Industries
Jay Bouis - Community College of Baltimore County
Jessica Carter - DLLR/OAG
Tammy Diedrich - Anne Arundel County Public Schools
James J. Gauvin - Ironworkers Local No. 16 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee
Trish Gordon-McCown - Maryland Higher Education Commission
Kathy Gress - Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Cumberland Valley Chapter
Steve Hamme - Perdue
Ross Jackson - Schuster Concrete Construction
Jane McDermott - Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare
Lili Melendez-Dendy - Howard County Workforce Center
Robert G. Migliaccio, Sr.- Ironworkers Local No. 5 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee
Michelle Phillips - Delaware Elevator, Inc.
Matthew Redabaugh - Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1
Jason C. Roberts - Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Metropolitan Washington Chapter
Jeffrey Smith - DLLR/DWDAL
Laura Spada - Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare
David Springham - Baltimore JATC for the Electrical Industry
Nancy Tretick - Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Chesapeake Shores Chapter
Georgeta L. Wainwright - Delaware Elevator, Inc.
Charles Wallace - Maryland State Department of Education
Zachary Watters - Apprentice
Ellie Webb - Delaware Elevator, Inc.
Tarsha Weary - Interns 4 Hire.com
Neil E. Wilford, Jr. - Baltimore JATC for the Electrical Industry
James J. Yuhase, Jr. - Ironworkers Local No. 5 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee

Assistant Secretary Rzepkowski remarked that it was an exciting time to be involved with apprenticeship in the State of Maryland. He observed how many times he had heard the word staff during the introductions and to have boots on the ground now to do the work that needs to be done. He noted having recently attended the Apprenticeship Forward meeting held in Washington, D.C.

I. The first order of business was the approval of the minutes of the January 10, 2017 Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council meeting. The minutes of the January 10, 2017 Council meeting were approved as submitted.

II. DIRECTOR’S REPORT:

A. MMr. MacLarion provided Council members with an update on the State Apprenticeship and Training Fund. He stated that as of May 7, 2017 the fund had a balance of $463,324.69 and informed Council members of the monthly amounts that had been deposited into the fund since January 1, 2017. He also noted that there were two outstanding items against the fund that had not yet come off of the fund.

B. Council members were informed that the ratio subcommittee had held its second meeting prior to the morning’s Council meeting. He also noted that a public meeting regarding the ratio of apprentices to journeyworkers had been held on April 18, 2017 that had been well attended with an equal number of speakers speaking in favor of changing that ratio and speakers opposing changing it.

C. Mr. MacLarion gave Council members an update on the Apprenticeship/ USA grant and informed them of the seven awards that had been made to date from the Apprenticeship Innovation Fund. He announced that five of the six new staff allocated under the grant have been hired and that he had also been able to bring on a part-time staff member to assist in maintaining apprenticeship program sponsor records. Staff were in the process of reaching out to all of the registered apprenticeship program sponsors.

D. Council members were briefed on the Eligible Training Provider List to which 14 apprenticeship program sponsors had already been added. Mr. MacLarion encouraged Council members and other sponsors in attendance to apply to be added to the Eligible Training Provider List if they had not already done so.

F. It was announced that the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training regulations had been amended effective April 24, 2017 to allow for the registration of competency-based apprenticeship programs.

III. NEW BUSINESS:

A. NEW PROGRAMS:

1. SW Design School, LLC d/b/a/Interns4Hire.com (Kelton Addison) - Occupation of Web Developer. Related instruction to be provided in-house. Request for registration of an Affirmative Action Plan. [PLEASE NOTE: This occupation had not been previously approved and registered by the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council].

Mr. Addison presented this proposed new apprenticeship program for Web Developer to the Council. Related instruction for this program was to be provided by the SW Design School, LLC. He stated that they were also requesting the registration of an Affirmative Action Plan. He introduced Ms. Tarsha Weary who was present at the Council meeting representing this request.

Mr. Shmelzer inquired about the number of journeyworkers employed by Interns4Hire.com. Mr. Addison responded that Ms. Weary was the only journeyworker.

Mr. Shmelzer stated that one of his concerns about this program was that the Standards of Apprenticeship were a combination of federal and state forms making it difficult to navigate the document. He also noted that page 40 of the document showed four occupations while the request for registration was only for the occupation of Web Developer. Ms. Weary stated those four occupations pertained to the related instruction curriculum. She stated that Council members had only received 61 pages of the 113 pages that she had submitted and that the information the Mr. Shmelzer had inquired about was explained in those missing pages. She also stated that the breakdown of the on- the-job training hours was also missing. She presented Council members with a copy of the missing pages. There was discussion of the missing pages between Ms. Weary, Council members and staff.

Mr. Cluster inquired as to why the apprentice wage progression schedule shown on the Standards Report Form was stated in dollars rather than as percentages of the average journeyworker wage rate. He explained that under Apprenticeship and Training regulations, for wage rates not established by collective bargaining agreements, the progressively increasing schedule of apprentice wages shall be expressed in percentages of the journeyworker wage rate. Additionally he observed that since the objective of the apprenticeship program was to become a Web Developer rather than a Graphic Designer, the journeyworker hourly wage rate and wage progressions should be based on the occupation of Web Developer rather than Graphic Designer.

Mr. Cluster also questioned whether someone would need to be a Graphic Designer in order to enter the apprenticeship program. Ms. Weary responded that having a course in desktop publishing was a prerequisite for entry.

Mr. Bromley stated that due to the amount of information that was in need of clarification, this request should be tabled until the next Council meeting.

A motion to table the request for registration of Standards of Apprenticeship for SW Design School, LLC d/b/a/ Interns4Hire.com for the occupation of Web Developer was made by Mr. Bromley, seconded by Mr. Smarte and unanimously approved.

Mr. Butler requested that Mr. Vontran assist Ms. Weary in addressing the concerns that had been raised by Council members in order for the proposed Standards of Apprenticeship to be considered again at the September Council meeting.

2. Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (John F. Vontran) - Occupation of Environmental Care Supervisor. Related instruction to be through Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Community College of Baltimore County. Request for approval and registration of an Affirmative Action Plan. [PLEASE NOTE: This occupation had not been previously approved and registered by the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council].

 Mr. Vontran presented this proposed new apprenticeship program to the Council. He noted that it was the first competency-based apprenticeship program to come before the Council since the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Regulations had been amended to recognize competency-based programs. He introduced Ms. Laura Spada, Executive Director, and Ms. Jane McDermott, Program Director, for the Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (BACH) who were in attendance representing this request.

Mr. Vontran provided the Council with some background on BACH. He stated that BACH has been incorporated since July of 2005. Their mission is to address underemployment and shortages issues in healthcare occupations in Baltimore by identifying pathways to enter and to advance in them.

Mr. Shmelzer stated that he would like documentation of any competencies that the sponsor would be requesting credit for for apprentices. Ms. Spada replied that they would accept letters from the applicants’ prior employers. Mr. Shmelzer responded that a more formal process for assessing an applicant’s level of competency would be preferable. Mr. Vontran added that for the sponsor’s initial occupation, apprentices would be incumbent workers already working in a hospital.

A motion to approve the request for registration of Standards of Apprenticeship for the Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Health- care for the occupation of Environmental Care Supervisor was made by Mr. Shmelzer, seconded by Ms. Runkles and unanimously approved.

Schuster Concrete Construction (John F. Vontran) – Occupation of Construction Craft Laborer. Related instruction to be in-house using the National Center for Construction Education and Research curriculum. [Printed Standards Forms]

Mr. Vontran presented this proposed new apprenticeship program to the Council and introduced Mr. Ross Jackson, Vice President and Safety Director for Schuster Concrete Construction, who was present at the Council meeting representing the company.

Mr. Cluster noted that related instruction would be presented from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for three hours per session. Mr. Vontran stated that this would allow the three-hour sessions to be flexible to accommodate apprentices working different schedules. Mr. Shmelzer stated his concern that for some in- house related instruction classes some apprentices do not receive all of the related instruction that is required.

Mr. Klusmann inquired about the number of apprentices Schuster Concrete Construction would have. Mr. Vontran responded that they currently have 60 journeyworkers. Mr. Jackson stated that they intended to have 20 apprentices in their first class.

A motion to approve the request for registration of Standards of Apprenticeship for Schuster Concrete Construction for the occupation of Construction Craft Laborer with the condition that they add an Affirmative Action Plan prior to the registration of five (5) or more apprentices was made by Mr. Wilson, seconded by Mr. Bromley and unanimously approved.

B. PROGRAM REVSIONS:

1. Ironworkers Local No. 5 Joint Apprenticeship and Training               Committee (John P. Taylor) – Request for registration of updated        Standards of Apprenticeship and Affirmative Action Plan.

Mr. John Taylor presented this proposed revision to Council members and informed them that Mr. James Yuhase was attending the meeting to represent the Ironworkers Local No. 5 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee. Mr. John Taylor stated that the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers had gone through a process of consolidating its local unions. As a result, Local No. 5 would be absorbing Local No. 16 from Baltimore and Local No. 201 from Washington, D.C. As a result of the consolidation, the Ironworkers Local No. 5 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee saw a need to revise and update their Standards of Apprenticeship.

Mr. Cluster inquired as to whether their related instruction had remained basically the same. Mr. Yuhase responded that substantial changes had been made to incorporate subjects that had been previously taught by the two locals that they were absorbing; particularly those that had been taught by Local No. 201, a Reinforcing Ironworkers local.

Mr. Yuhase asked about those apprentices that would be brought over from Local No. 16 or Local No. 201 as third or fourth year apprentices. Mr. John Taylor responded that Maryland’s Apprenticeship and Training Regulations provided for the transfer of an employer’s training obligation to another employer, when warranted, with full credit to the apprentice for satisfactory time and training earned.

A motion to approve the request from Ironworkers Local No.5 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee to register updated Standards of Apprenticeship for the occupation of Ironworker was made by Mr. Klusmann, seconded by Mr. Cavey and unanimously approved.

A motion to approve the request to register an updated Affirmative Action Plan was made by Mr. Smarte, seconded by Mr. Klusmann and unanimously approved.

2. Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., Chesapeake Shores Chapter (John F. Vontran) – Revision to add the occupation of Millwright. Related instruction to be provided by Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Chesapeake Shores Chapter.

Mr. Vontran presented this proposed revision to the Council and introduced Ms. Nancy Tretick who was present representing the Chesapeake Shores Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. Ms. Tretick in turn introduced Mr. Steve Hamme from Perdue in Salisbury, Maryland which would be becoming a new Participating Employer and would be using the new occupation of Millwright.

A motion to approve this revision was made by Mr. Shmelzer, seconded by Ms. Butt and unanimously approved.

C. OTHER BUSINESS:

1. Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Metropolitan Washington Chapter (John P. Taylor) – Request for After-the Fact registration and completion of an apprentice Electrician.

Mr. John Taylor presented this request to the Council and introduced Mr. Jason Roberts, the Director of Education for the Metropolitan Washington Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. and Mr. Zachary Watters, the apprentice who was the subject of the request. Mr. John Taylor explained to Council members the circumstances by which Mr. Watters came to be enrolled as a craft trainee rather than as an apprentice when he was enrolled into the fourth year electrical class.

A motion to approve this request was made by Mr. Cluster, seconded by Ms. Butt and unanimously approved.

2. Delaware Elevator, Inc. (John F. Vontran) – Request for After- the-Fact registration and completion of an apprentice Elevator Constructor.

Mr. Vontran presented this request to the Council and introduced Ms. Ellie Webb who was attending the Council meeting to represent Delaware Elevator.

Employer representative David Smarte recused himself from this item of Council business.

A motion to approve this request was made by Ms. Butt, seconded by Mr. Bromley and unanimously approved.

3. Overview and discussion of revised Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 30 – Apprenticeship Programs; Equal Employment Opportunity (Jessica Carter/Jenny Baker).

Ms. Carter informed Council members that they had received in their Council meeting materials an electronic copy of the revised Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 30 that became effective on January 18, 2017 along with some fact sheets from the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship explaining the changes from the previous regulations. She stated that while the revised regulations are now in effect, they provide some rolling dates for currently registered program sponsors to amend their Affirmative Action Plans to come into compliance with the revised regulations. She also stated that Maryland’s Equal Employment Opportunity regulations (COMAR 09.12.42) would need to be revised to conform to the revised federal regulations.

Council members were informed that the revised federal regulations have added coverage for new protected classes. These new protected classes are in effect now but currently registered program sponsors would have rolling effective dates in which to incorporate them into their Affirmative Action Plans. Mr. John Taylor observed that sponsors currently having an Affirmative Action Plan are now required to have goals and timetables for minorities and women and inquired as to whether there would need to be goals and timetables for all of the new protected classes. Ms. Carter responded that that would depend upon a number of factors.

 Mr. William Taylor introduced Mr. James Foti, the new Regional Director for Region 2 of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship.

Mr. Butler provided the Council with an update on the 2017 session of the Maryland General Assembly and legislation affecting apprenticeship.

HOUSE BILL 810– This was a departmental bill that would go into effect on July 1, 2017. This bill made the revisions to Maryland’s apprenticeship statute that would enable finalizing revising Maryland’s Apprenticeship and Training Regulations to bring them fully into compliance with Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 29.

SENATE BILL 317 the More Jobs for Marylanders Act - This was an administration bill that provided additional funding for training in Maryland. It provided for an additional one million dollars per year for the Partnership for Workforce Quality, a Maryland Department of Commerce training program for businesses. It also provided for $500,000 in tax credits for certain businesses that employ apprentices. Qualifying businesses can receive a credit of up to $1,000 for each eligible apprentice. In order to qualify for the tax credit, the eligible apprentice must be employed by the taxpayer for at least 7 full months of the taxable year. Mr. Butler added that information about the More Jobs for Maryanders Act would be available on the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation website.

HOUSE BILL 467 – This bill provides that certain contractors or subcontractors be affiliated with a registered apprenticeship program and use apprentices from a registered apprenticeship program. Contractors and subcontractors must also make payments to the State Apprenticeship Fund or make payments to a registered apprenticeship program for the purpose of supporting the program. Payments made would not exceed 25 cents per hour as determined by the Secretary for each employee who is employed by the contractor or subcontractor to complete the covered contract. The payments will be made on a monthly basis.

Mr. Cavey noted that when an apprentice leaves one registered apprenticeship program and then goes to another registered sponsor and then completes, the second sponsor gets the credit for the completion while the sponsor that they were cancelled from has their retention rate negatively impacted. He stated that he would like to see a mechanism in place where the first sponsor’s retention and completion rate would not be impacted by the cancellation of apprentices who subsequently complete their apprenticeships under a new sponsor.

Mr. Charles Wallace informed Council members that 11,040 students participated in the Skills USA Maryland competitions. About 260 Maryland students would be going on to compete in the Skills USA national competitions to be held in Louisville, Kentucky from June 19 to June 24, 2017.

There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting of the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council was adjourned at 10:45 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Christopher D. MacLarion
Secretary
Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council