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API, NABTU Urge Senate to Vote on National Apprenticeship Act


202.682.8114 | press@api.org



WASHINGTON, November 25, 2020 – The American Petroleum Institute (API) and North America’s Building Trades Unions today urged the Senate to act on the National Apprenticeship Act (H.R. 8294), which was recently passed by the House.

“This legislation is important to ensure the continued vitality of our national apprenticeship system, which provides a ladder of opportunity for those seeking workforce training, including the many union workers employed by the oil and natural gas industry,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said. “High standard apprenticeship training is essential, and we encourage the Senate to pass this bill to strengthen economic opportunities in communities across the country.”

“North America’s Building Trades Unions applauds the passage of the National Apprenticeship Act to reauthorize the foundational law on which our apprenticeship programs are built. This bill maintains the integrity of the Registered Apprenticeship system and ensures the safety, well-being, and economic trajectory of the apprentice are protected,” said NABTU President Sean McGarvey. “Investing almost $1.7 billion per year, funding a network of over 1,600 U.S. teaching centers and producing the safest, most highly-skilled and productive construction craft workers through the Registered Apprenticeship system – we know the Registered model works. With this new bill, Registered Apprenticeship will not only remain the gold standard in U.S. construction workforce training but will also open pathways for more industries to build productive and highly-skilled workforces.”

API represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 600 members produce, process and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In our first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

North America’s Building Trades Unions is an alliance of 14 national and international unions in the building and construction industry that collectively represent over 3 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada. Each year, our unions and our signatory contractor partners invest over $1.7 billion in private-sector money to fund and operate over 1,900 apprenticeship training and education facilities across North America that produce the safest, most highly trained, and productive, skilled craft workers found anywhere in the world. NABTU is dedicated to creating economic security and employment opportunities for its construction workers by safeguarding wage and benefits standards, promoting responsible private capital investments, investing in renowned apprenticeship and training, and creating pathways to the middle class for women, communities of color and military veterans in the construction industry. For more information, please visit www.nabtu.org.

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