The Percy Program

It is a fight to level the playing field to be able to compete for jobs and careers on the basis of skills and make available apprentice training to all. In 1973 Al Percy launched a class action lawsuit to give workers like him a chance to better their lot in life. It would also ensure the availability of skilled workers to build the infrastructure of the future.

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3 years ago

Percy Action

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and facility must be able to work well with others in order to develop good teams capable of working efficiently together, and to sort out which teams are not working to the best capacity as a team. 56. The workers and members of the team must be responsible for operations, hoisting equipment and managing the work floor, which may include breaks, monitors, throttles for equipment, measurements, reading and other feedback from equipment to allow adjustments to be made and tuned as they become necessary. A supervisor or journeyperson working with new recruits must assure that the team is aware of the safety measures and that all are followed to the letter, with regular safety drills and meetings being scheduled by a foreman or supervisor for all personnel, to make sure that the rules are being closely monitored and followed. 57. A supervisor is a journeyperson who oversees the entire operation who started out low on the ladder before graduating through the hierarchy of the team, starting out as a trainee apprentice learning about the trade in a classroom and on-site. The experience is accomplished under the watchful eye of a journeyperson trainer. After learning the basics of the trade, workers can move up to positions with more duties, responsibilities and pay, taking on more specialized duties on the job site which require additional training and certification in particular fields of specialized trades, becoming a qualified member of a work team. 58. A dependable and smooth-running group of teams is created by having craftsman who have learned their job by coming up through the ranks. Constraints and vigorous apprenticeship training provide the level of experience that a worker can draw from, while handling the many responsibilities of the team and honing superior leadership skills while onthe-job. 59. Managerial skills require precise organizational practices with a background of courses and related classroom instruction, which include safety, management and organizational skills as well as ongoing training throughout the career to keep abreast and maintain knowledge of new equipment, systems, safety and regulatory changes, first-aid, fall protection, dangerous conditions, infectious diseases, hazardous materials, rescue and other training courses needed. 14

60. There are many paths of advancement, but a person must be on-the-job in order to obtain the necessary skills for advancement. 61. The work requires that the craft person be physically fit and have a strong work ethic which allows continuation until a job is done, not quitting halfway through. The public are relying upon basic utility systems and the workers who maintain them to be capable of doing the work and undertaking these important duties. They must be able to work outdoors and in inclement conditions for long periods of time, regardless of weather conditions where the work is hard, but the compensation is worth the effort. Workers must be capable to control, listen, maintain, check regularly for vibration and other operational problems and keep equipment in good repair, inspecting all aspects of their operation while helping out with training new team-members. 62. Industries have many diverse fields of experience that constantly require an influx of trained and experienced personnel to help keep industries going. 63. Today there is an obvious shortage of skilled labor. If the Percy Class had received the promised apprenticeship, people who need jobs today would have the skills to compete for rewarding and good paying jobs. 64. Today, Percy continues as the class representative to develop skilled persons trained and capable of keeping society’s infrastructure functioning. This cannot happen without the educated, skilled, salt of the earth, labor of hardworking Americans. But nothing is possible without proper training and safety. 65. This action has been brought on behalf of similarly situated persons alleging that Government Agencies and authorities, Owners and Employers, in violation of various statutory and common laws, failed to implement the regulations and executive orders which guarantee the right to equal employment opportunities under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and as amended in 1991, when presented with a demonstrated Alternative Employment Practice which the Employers and Owners failed to adopt. 66. Now the Percy Class as the "complaining party" produces and persuades to demonstrate an Alternative Employment Practice, paragraphs 153 et seq of this Complaint, by providing fully compliant apprenticeship meeting the 15

Alternative Employment Practice Percy Program