On this day in Labor History the year was 1937.
That was the day that the U.S. Congress passed the National Apprenticeship Act.
It was also known as the Fitzgerald Act.
The purpose of the act was “to formulate and promote the furtherance of labor standards necessary to safeguard the welfare of apprentices.”
Apprentices are workers learning a skill set.
They are typically paid less than skilled workers or journeymen during the course of their training.
Apprenticeship programs are especially found in the building trades, where learning skills like plumbing or electrical work might take years of dedicated training.
But before the protection of the 1937 act, there was no national standard governing apprentice programs.
This led some apprentices to be exploited, earning lower wages even after they gained the skills they needed to do the job as journeymen.
In 1911, Wisconsin was the first state to pass legislation to structure the apprentice system.
In the 1920s multiple labor unions advocated for national apprentice standards to promote fairness and safety for workers.
Recognizing the need for national apprentice guidelines, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt commissioned a committee to study the issue.
They were tasked with developing training standards for apprenticeship programs.
The 1937 law gave the committee the authority to complete their job.
The committee on apprentice training became a permanent part of the Department of Labor.
The Bureau of Apprenticeship works with State governments to ensure the fair treatment of apprentices.
Today apprentice programs provide classroom and on-the-job training to help developed a skilled labor force.
In 2015, 52,500 participants graduated from the registered apprentice programs.
Nearly ½ a million workers participated in apprentice training programs, learning skills that will help build their financial security.
January 19 - A Snapshot in Misery
January 18 - Is Colorado in America?
January 17 - Standing Against Wage Theft
January 15 - We Want to Live, Not Just Exist
January 14 - The Rise of the Bellamyites
January 13 - Johnny Cash Plays Folsom Prison
January 12 - The Cost of Wartime Industrial Peace
January 11 - Battle of the Running Bulls
January 10 - The Rise of Settlement Houses
January 9 - Courts Stand Against Workers
January 8 - Oil Workers Walk Out Across the Country
January 7 - Tragic Youngstown Massacre
January 6 - Remembering Ida Tarbell
January 5 - Ohio First to Enact Black Laws
January 4 - Standing Up by Sitting Down
January 3 - The Power of Folded Arms and Marching Feet
January 2 - A Nation Fed Up, Strikes Back
January 1 - Transit Workers Push Back
December 31 - The Fight for Safer Working Conditions
December 30 - The Day Mines Were Made Safer
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