Most public construction projects in Massachusetts would be required to use apprentices under a bill passed overwhelmingly by the House late last month.
The legislation, approved 154-1, would expand the state’s trades’ workforce by requiring the hiring of apprentices for all contracts awarded for public construction projects over $10 million.
Effective a year after signed into law, this bill would require projects to hire apprentices to work 5% of a project’s total amount of hours, which would scale up to 10% in three years and 15 % in four years.
Momentum for this legislation has been building for several months, primarily behind bills filed by state Rep. Marjorie Decker, D-Cambridge, and state Sen. Lydia Edwards, D-Boston.
Back in June, Khary Brown, a registered electrical apprentice in IBEW 103, made the case for these bills before the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development.
“We have aging infrastructure, ambitious clean energy goals and a retiring generation of skilled workers. We need to be proactive about training new talent now.”
House Speaker Ron Mariano didn’t require that type of passionate persuasion.
“Investing in the trades’ workforce will bolster workforce development, ensuring that the commonwealth is able to meet the growing demands for new infrastructure projects,” said Mariano, a Quincy Democrat.
“The PATHS Act reaffirms our commitment to workers’ rights, to a skilled and diverse workforce, and to multiple pathways to good-paying, family-sustaining careers,” said Decker, House chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health and main sponsor of the bill.
Public agencies must require, as a condition of awarding a construction contract over $10 million for any public works, that all construction managers, general contractors and subcontractors maintain or participate in an apprentice program, approved by the Division of Apprentice Standards, for each qualifying occupation represented in their workforce.
Any non-exempt construction manager, general contractor and subcontractor who fails to maintain or participate in an apprentice program cannot be deemed a responsible and eligible bidder.
The bill also requires prevailing wage payments by employers to include apprenticeship programs approved by the Division of Apprentice Standards within the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and operated in compliance with the Division of Apprentice Standards.
The bill also establishes a Special Commission on Apprenticeships to study and make recommendations on the development, accessibility, quality, funding and utilization of apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs across all industry sectors.
With more students appreciating the value of a vocational/technical education, that aspiring trades’ workforce will require the opportunity to hone and advance their skills.
This bill would provide entry-level jobs to nurture that development.
We trust the Senate will likewise embrace the intent of this legislation.
Fitchburg seniors use FSU free fee, tuition program
A promise kept.
Ben Lor, a senior at Fitchburg High School, and Molley Demeo, a senior at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, have become the first two city residents to sign up for Fitchburg State University’s Promise program.
Unveiled by FSU President Donna Hodge last fall, Fitchburg Promise grants any Fitchburg resident enrolled at one of the city’s high schools who maintains a 2.25 GPA guaranteed tuition- and fee-free admission to FSU, as long as they remain in good academic standing.
Lor and Demeo took FSU up on that promise by committing to becoming Falcons in the fall of 2026.
“It’s a clear, supported pathway to college,” stated Hodge in a statement. “One that gives families certainty, gives school counselors a trusted partner, and gives students — especially first-generation students — a real and reachable future. This is equity in action.”
This new direct admissions initiative is designed to remove barriers, simplify access and guarantee admission to students in good standing at their high schools.
FSU established this novel agreement with Fitchburg High School — including its Goodrich Academy — Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, St. Bernard’s High School and the Sizer charter school.
Getting into the Fitchburg Promise pipeline takes just a few easy steps.
Students can simply fill out an online opt-in form as early as their freshman year of high school.
The program also delivers other significant financial benefits, including an annual $1,500 housing scholarship for those who want to live on campus.
According to the university, Lor and Demeo committed within days of being hand-delivered acceptance letters by Fitchburg State University Assistant Director of Admissions Eliezer Rivera.
They both agree that tuition and fees being waived, combined with an annual housing scholarship, made attending FSU an easy decision.
“If it wasn’t an option for me to get the tuition and fees (waived) and the stipend for my dorming, it wouldn’t have been possible for me to come to college,” said Demeo. “I would have been in heavy debt forever.”
Once Lor learned about the direct admissions process, he says the decision to attend Fitchburg State was a no-brainer.
“Having all the fees waived, that’s really big for me to attend a really high-tier college for free,” said Lor, who plans to commute from home.
Massachusetts has made significant strides in making a college education affordable, including free community college and the prospect of offering a three-year degree in the near future.
But the state-supported FSU program represents an even better alternative — a tuition- and fee-free four-year college degree in your own backyard.
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