PREVAILING WAGE AFFECTS

Another bill, Assembly Bill 921 (AB 921) addresses changes to rules and regulations of apprenticeship programs. The Division of Apprenticeship Standards is considering a number of changes to the rules and regulations of approved apprenticeship programs. The most interesting is the proposal to apply collective bargaining agreements or state prevailing wages to non-union and private work. This has the potential of increasing the entry-level wage of open shop apprenticeship programs from $9.85 per hour to $19.00 per hour (approximately). If entry-level wages increase by almost 200%, all other wages will increase accordingly.

There is only a limited amount of money to be spent on electrical construction (high or low voltage) in California, and if wages double, there is likely to be only half as many jobs. Increase costs may keep legitimate companies from retaining the competitive edge that they need to stay in business.