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

training, safety,

training, safety, technology education, risk management and loss control to reward the value of hard work. 192. Upgrading skills allows a disadvantaged person ready, willing and able to work, to compete based upon skill rather than the color of their skin or ethnicity, the vision of 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000(e)-2(a), is lawful affirmativeaction and equal employment opportunity. Fewer young people are entering the skilled trades, employers are struggling to find enough skilled workers to undertake the massive infrastructure projects which are sorely needed. With an expected workforce shortage of craft professionals and service members projected to leave the military over the next five years, it is the "Percy Program" as the Alternative Employment Practice. 193. Workers’ compensation coverage is the framework for providing the Percy Program as an Alternative Employment Practice, providing the apprenticeship through safety, risk management in workers’ compensation coverage and enrolling the new workforce to work alongside existing journeypersons, will grow the depth of skilled workers whose ranks are being diminished through age and attrition. Disadvantaged persons ready, willing and able to work, are given an opportunity and employers build a reliable workforce to complete contracts competently and profitably. This workers’ compensation based program delivers diversity opportunities. The key is having broad work processes available for meaningful long-term opportunities for all aspects of skilled craftsmanship available on large multi-disciplined contracted project facilities. 194. Workers’ compensation insurance is a required part of all employment and is an ideal mechanism within which to fit OJT apprentice training so as to foster equal employment opportunity. 195. The Percy Program as an Alternative Employment Practice can be funded by savings workers’ compensation costs resulting loss control and safety training, and safe work habits without costing Owners or Employers or diverting any of the funding for the public work facilities. This is accomplished by simply applying savings resulting from reduced losses due to the Percy Program and allocating those savings to pay for apprenticeship out of the premium paid for workers’ compensation coverage. 50

196. The apprenticeship program portion of the Percy Program as the Alternative Employment Practice is ideally suited to train and create jobs for the Class as identified by Judge Lasker in Percy v. Brennan. The Apprentice Program as the Alternative Employment Practice is an outgrowth of a commitment to minimize loss and risk in the work place by educating and training apprentices and journeypersons on safe and healthful practices, workers’ safety is impacted in a positive manner resulting in greater control of risk reducing loss for employers and their carriers. 197. Written assessment and performance verification will implement career pathways created and endorsed by both industry and education, perfect for service members with construction training and/or experience who are interested in taking the assessments. 198. The most beneficial and constitutionally correct solution that is certainly a less onerous alternative to address and correct the inequity and foster equal employment is for the Owners to require that the Employers provide paid OJT and continuing education for those ready, willing and able to work, as agreed by the Employer Contractors in compliance with EO 11246. The Owners are not relieved from their obligations under the Civil Rights Act and EO 11246 by passing the burden through to Employer/contractors. 199. Although there is some positive benefit of identifying disadvantaged business enterprises to be entitled to special treatment, the 14th amendment does not permit that to occur, based upon race, color, or creed, either positively or negatively. Minority business enterprise goals have been corrupting and evil, propagating fraud and criminal activity, but that is not complained of in this action. Goals being used under the guise of fostering disadvantaged business enterprises thereby satisfying affirmative action for equal employment opportunity, has been accepted apparently due to the view that by allowing unequal treatment based upon the color of skin or ethnicity under the guise of equalizing opportunity, that is okay in leveling the playing field? Again, that is not within this Action. This proceeding is not to challenge that mechanism, but rather to enable the Alternative Employment Practice identified in the Lincoln Reconstruction Speech of April 11, 1865, namely: apprenticeship for freed people. 51

Alternative Employment Practice Percy Program