Rebuilding American Infrastructure—and its Skilled Construction Workforce

As the United States invests trillions of dollars to rebuild and modernize our infrastructure, we need solutions that enable construction companies to access more of the skilled workers these projects demand.

We already have one. It’s called apprenticeship.

Registered apprenticeship programs enable participants to “earn while they learn,” with tuition costs covered by sponsors who gain access to pools of workers that meet minimum skill, productivity and safety standards.

Within the construction industry, there are two types of apprenticeship programs. Joint labor-management programs—or union programs—are administered by contractors and unions and funded based on a “cents per hour” formula the two sides negotiate during collective bargaining. On the other side are nonunion programs, which rely on voluntary contributions from sponsoring employers.

The Difference Matters

This distinction in program financing matters. In the union model, workforce training investments are literally part of every project bid. In the nonunion model, voluntary training investments are often jettisoned in short-term efforts to lower project estimates and win bids. Over time, this only invites the kind of workforce shortages being reported across the industry today.

Recent research by economists at the University of Utah, University of Michigan, and Rutgers University shines new light on the scope of the problem.

Specifically, the report finds that while unions represent just 12% of our national construction workforce, union programs train 73% of all construction apprentices across the United States—including 8-in-10 apprentices who are women and people of color. Enrollees in union programs are also substantially more likely to complete their programs, regardless of race or gender. The study concludes that union programs are not only the best vehicle for getting workers prepared for the jobsite, but they are also the most effective tool for improving industry diversity.

This research makes clear that the surest way to meet the industry’s workforce supply need is to scale up the union model of training. In other words, by getting more contractors to become signatory to collective bargaining agreements, we can increase the enrollment and capacity of the joint apprenticeship programs that already deliver the majority of skilled workers to the industry. 

Better Jobs—Better Performance

The United States is experiencing a historically tight labor market, with more job openings than unemployed people. Construction industry surveys have shown that nonunion contractors are disproportionately struggling to find workers to fill job vacancies, and are more likely to experience project delays or turn down work altogether as a result.

Union contractors are better able to attract and retain skilled construction workers because they invest in both apprenticeship training and higher job quality.

On average, those who complete union apprenticeship programs earn competitive incomes that rival other types of workers with four-year college degrees—free of student loan debt. By contrast, studies have shown nonunion construction workers are more likely to live in poverty and rely on government assistance programs like food stamps.

Beyond increasing their access to sufficiently skilled labor, many contractors are finding that “going union” is ultimately just better for business. Research has shown no overall cost difference on projects completed by union or nonunion shops. Another recent analysis revealed that union construction workers are 4% more cost effective because they deliver superior productivity and safety outcomes to the jobsite, and are less likely to impose turnover or retention costs on their employers. This study also concluded that union contractors face a 40% lower risk of project delays and cost overruns that are often a function of workforce instability.

That said, the choices that will determine our ability to meet this moment of high demand for construction workers are not just up to contractors. Policymakers can help by promoting construction workforce development. Prevailing wage laws, for example, establish minimum wages and training contributions for different types of skilled construction workers on publicly funded projects, and have been found to increase apprenticeship training. Project labor agreements can achieve similar outcomes.

Proven to Deliver

More can also be done to remove other barriers that too often inhibit participation in the trades. We need to stop teaching our kids that college is the only pathway into the American middle class, because generations of ironworkers, carpenters, electricians, and operating engineers prove otherwise. Pre-apprenticeships can help fill the void left by decades of cuts to shop classes and vocational education. Affordable childcare can make it possible for more people to rejoin the labor force and train for these careers. The list goes on.

We are not powerless in the face of today’s construction workforce reckoning, nor do we need to reinvent the wheel. To ensure near-term shortages don’t become longer-term realities, we need to compete for new workers, provide them with the requisite skills to succeed at the worksite, and the job quality that will attach them to careers in this critical industry. The union construction model is scalable and proven to deliver on each of these metrics.

Frank Manzo IV, MPP, is the Executive Director of the Non-Partisan Illinois Economic Policy Institute.