This page contains answers to common questions.
- Why will AB-931 affect me?
- What exactly is wrong with this regulation?
- How can I find out more about this
- How did this happen?
- What can I do?
- How do I apply to take the test?
Why will AB-931 affect me?
As an Electrician or Electrical Contractor? After January, 1 2005 you or your employees will need to have a "certification" ID card issued from the State of California to perform Electrical work on any circuit rated above100va. (That is 100va, not 100kva! Less than one amp at 120v! ) It is extremely important for you to read and understand the fullest extent of AB-931!
Learn More Here.
An Electrical Contractors opinion on AB-931.
As a General Contractor, Architect, Developer? Immediately following January, 1 2005, there will be an extreme shortage of Electricians of whom are "certified". ( Look at the statistics.... There an unknown number of persons serving the Electrical Industry, but it is well over 70,000 outside the IBEW! ) Otherwise, you will be forced into one of several possible scenarios .
Hope your Electrical Contractor can get all of his / her employees "certified" in time.
Hope your Electrical Contractor even found out about this regulation. ( Unless you are a frequent visitor to certain government web sites, or heard about it down at the local IBEW, or member of a major Contractor Association, you might never know about this. To date there have been NO MAILINGS to EVERYONE with a C-10 LICENSE! ) Correction: The CSLB has included something in their Newsletter, find it here. Winter 2003 Newsletter
Wait for your contractor to comply with AB-931, if they can. ( Before they go bankrupt! By failing to complete contracts, with a lack of available labor, or paying twice as much for it.)
Find, re-bid, re-negotiate with another contractor who is in compliance, and has available labor to handle your current projects. And, pay through the nose, in an unstable market. Supply and demand for labor in the Industry will hold prices high for quite some time.
With this law, and others law recently passed will further compound the effects of this law. New regulations amending Section 208 of the current apprenticeship law. These new regulations, now in effect, require that apprentices in all trades be paid a percentage of the prevailing wage on private as well as public work. AB-1087 amending parts of the original version of AB-931 requires any Electrician who does not qualify, of fails to pass the test immediately apply to an approved apprenticeship program. And AB-921 was an attempt to monopolize apprenticeship programs by eliminating the few non-union programs. The combination of catch-22's could be deadly.
As an Electrical Supply Distributor? How many of your customers will comply? How many of your customers know about The Electrician Certification Program? You should find out soon, and make sure they do. If not sales could be very slim. Can you afford that?
Let them know, print a flyer.
In any construction trade related trade? This type of certification law could be used as "Model Law" for Carpenters, Plumbers, HVAC, or almost any Trade. Your Trade may be next?
Interested in the continued growth of the Construction Industry in California? In our current economy, the Construction Industry has continued to grow, and is expected to continue to grow. Financial tabloids have encouraged investment in Real Estate as one of the last "safe" investments. A lean, mean, sexy Real Estate market depends fully on the down in the trenches Construction Industry. We built it, they sell it. A profitable project in 2004, could be a loss in 2005! Do you want to take the chance?
To whom it may concern: Regardless, of all the "dooms-day" scenarios listed above, one might affect you, the others may not. Please, find the time to educate yourself on this regulation and its related laws to draw your own conclusions. Within this site, there are links to reliable information, and opinions on the subject. And links to ways action can be taken. Please explore.
What exactly is wrong with this regulation?
The idea of having Certified Electricians is ideal in it's concept. But in practice within the framework of AB-931 Electricians Certification Program, the ideal becomes complicated, skewed, and distorted.
AB-931 in '99-'00, and the amendments of AB-1087 in '01-'02 mandate that all employees working for C-10 Licensed Electrical Contractors, be Certified by the State of California by January 1, 2005. Yet does not require all Contractors, or workers doing electrical installations to be certified. Meaning General Contractors, Handymen, and Home Owners can still perform Electrical work, and poorly at that.
Currently, the labor use of the Electrical Industry in California is set up in a manner that is highly competitive, with the end result being a competitive end price on the consumer side. And, quality is held in check, by several methods, Building Inspections, Contractor reputation, and contract liability under the Consumer Protection laws of the Business and Professions Codes. Job site safety is enforced by CalOSH.
The idea that Certification will insure safe installations is unfounded. Certification simply means someone has answered 70% of a test correctly. A test based on engineering, and Electrical Codes, not mechanical skills, or physical connection of a circuit. A test that an employees Supervisor, or Foreman will not be required take. Supervisors, or Foremen that will oversee the actual engineering and Code compliance of any installation. Why are they not required to be Certified, if they do not use tools? AB-931, is a division of labor, and management. Does this sound familiar?
After January 1, 2005, C-10 Electrical Contractors will have to have all labor be "Certified Electricians", as skilled "Journeyman" labor. Or, have "Apprentices" through State approved programs, paid a percentage of Prevailing Wage, mandated by the DAS. ( A pay rate almost equivalent to "Certified Electricians". ) $35 - $50 per hour, depending on location and experience, with other benefits, as the market demands.
This will also eliminate the use of moderately skilled, un-apprenticed labor that perform a majority of the tasks that require "moderate skills", and make $15 - $25 per hour, depending on location and experience, with other benefits, as the market demands. ( Drilling holes, pulling wire, etc. ) The use of "moderately skilled labor" has kept labor costs down, and Electrical Contractors competitive in the State of California. These laborers usually remain in the Trade. ( With the incentive of higher pay. ) Acquiring the knowledge, and skills through On-The-Job-Training, to become considered "Journeymen". And, eventually become Supervisors or Project Managers, and some will often become Electrical Contractors, with full, well rounded experience. This method of On-The-Job-Training will be eliminated under AB-931, after January 1, 2005.
The elimination of the use of moderately skilled, un-apprenticed labor, has a secondary effect. ( Those of whom will not be allowed by the DIR / DAS to take the test to "Certify". ) This will reduce the labor force of non-union Contractors substantially. And, not allow those Contractors to accept work that they do not have enough labor for. This compounded by the fact that most of the skilled labor allowed to sit for the Certification Test, and most of "approved" Apprentices will be through the IBEW, ( Electrical Union ) one can reasonably assume that the Union will have a near monopoly on Electrical Labor, in the near future. And, therefore have a market advantage. And consumers will have to pay inflated labor costs for Union, and non-union Contractors forced to compete for that labor.
The idea of mandatory Apprenticeship is great. There is nothing more valuable to a Contractor, than a well educated Employee. But, the fact's are clear. There are not enough Apprenticeship Programs, and Apprentices to sustain the current, or future labor market. And, continued attempts by the IBEW, to limit, or eliminate future Apprenticeship Programs will not stop.
Will AB-931 make any effect on the safety of Electrical installations? No, this responsibility will still lay on Local Building Inspectors. Job site safety will still be overseen by CalOSH. Will consumers be affected by this regulation? Yes, by the amount they spend on construction in California.
An unanswered question: Why is the Department of Industrial Relations doing this and not the Contractors State License Board? When the CSLB has it's own testing facilities and, covers all other licensing, of all other aspects of the Construction Trade?
See: What needs to change?, How did this happen? And, What can I do?
How can I find out more about this?
Below you'll find some direct links to information and opinions currently found on the web about this, and related subjects. For the sake of honesty, and integrity, both sides of the opinion are provided. ( Although, it is really hard to contradict the general mission of the site. But this is about fairness. And that is the point, right?.....) These are but a few. And a good place to start. It would be wise to search on your own as well.
The offending laws:
AB 931 FAQ's The Electricians Certification Program
AB 1087 Current text of amendments to AB 931
Laws regarding Apprenticeship
The offenders:
http://www.ibewnecaforcertification.org/index.html
http://www.ibewnecaforcertification.org/faqs.htm
http://www.necanet.org/whats_new/report.cfm?ID=1266
The offended: And their opinions.
Fair Licensing and Apprenticeship Coalition
Fair Licensing and Apprenticeship Coalition FAQ's
Charles W. Baird PhD. of the Smith Center for Private Enterprise Studies
Testimony against AB 931 and AB 921 July 14, 1999 by Charles W. Baird, Ph.D.
ABC News Line 2002
ABC Article 2003
Meeting minutes 2002 California Community Colleges
Text of AB 931 with comments from this sites author
How did this happen?
In October 1999, the State of California passed a law (AB931) now part of the labor code Section 3099, that will require Electricians to be "certified". Similar to regulations passed in other States. States dominated by the IBEW and other unions. The IBEW has been pushing for something like this in California for decades.
The guided hand:
Assembly Member Calderon drafted consecutive bills with an obvious guided hand from the IBEW. Using the guises of safety, and fear of death by electrocution and fire, pushed this issue further.
The greased palm:
The IBEW gave a lot of pledged votes to Governor Gray Davis in his election, and re-election. And in pay back for those votes, signed AB-931. And is probably, completely ignorant of its repercussions.
It passed:
Then for 3 years, it was tailored, postponed, knocked down, propped up, quietly debated, and then quietly finalized.
The silence:
The DIR, DAS, CAC, CSLB all feel that it is the responsibility of the employer, and employee to find out about the status of AB-931 on their own. There has been no notice mailed to every C-10 Contractor in the state, as of yet. Some smaller Contractors have heard by word of mouth, most have not. The CSLB site has one link to this law, if you can find it.
http://www.cslb.ca.gov
Unless you lobbied for, or against this regulation, you might never know before it is too late. "Too late", may be sooner than you think.
Timing and Consequences
Conflict of interest:
Meet Chuck Cake, ( The fox in the hen house. )
Acting Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations.
Put someone in charge of it implementation who is sympathetic to your cause. Scroll through this page, and read his Bio. ( Note: the IBEW lapel pin. )
http://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNewDirector.html
( Unfortunately, this page has been pulled. However, notice that it is the only broken link on this page. http://www.dir.ca.gov/OD_pub/newpage2002.html It was very telling, about Chuck's IBEW past. I should have saved it.! I did save the picture, but for Copyright reasons, I shouldn't publish it. )
What can I do?
Tell everyone who will listen. Bring it up in conversation. Educate yourself on the issue, and debate the issue.
Learn more.
If you are an Electrician, or Electrical Contractor, it is in your best interest to comply with the law. Stay well informed about the law, since it has passed, it has changed several times. Hopefully, it will change again. And make sure your employer and fellow employees know about the law as well. This can not be stressed more, by all means get certified yourself.
Apply to take the test. Let others know, print a flyer.
Call, e-mail and / or write your Assembly Member, the Governor, and local politicians, or all of them, for that matter. Let them know what you think about this.
Governor
Find your Assembly Member ( Then enter zip code. )
Get involved with other Organizations who are working on this issue.
Fair Licensing and Apprenticeship Coalition
Inform others in the Construction Industry. General Contractors and all other Trades. Competing Contractors. As well as, Architects, Designers, and Realtors, etc. Guide them to reliable information.