Sec. 2. Findings

291 words·~1 min read·/bill/117/hr/3445/ih/section-2

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Congress finds the following: Young African-American men and women are the hardest hit by economic instability. Declared and affirmed by the Federal Reserve, African Americans face unemployment rates that are two to three times higher than their White counterparts for the last several decades. During economic recessions in 1974 through 1975, 1981 through 1982, 1990 through 1991, and 2008, the African-American community faced significantly higher unemployment rates than their White counterparts.

Even during times of economic growth, African-American communities experience prolonged financial vulnerability and delayed recovery. Unemployment rates decline at a slower rate for African-American men, and even a slower rate for African-American women as compared to their White counterparts. Affirmed by the Department of Labor, diversity and inclusion within the workforce benefits employees and businesses across all industries, including apprenticeship programs, which provide economic mobility to its participants.

Through the combined efforts of building trades unions and community partners at the State and local level, there have been established more than 150 apprenticeship readiness programs across the United States that focus on creating pathways to Registered Programs for people of color, women, and veterans. Overall, from 2009 to 2019, building trades unions and their signatory contractors have invested over $100,000,000 in outreach efforts targeting under-represented communities to participate in apprenticeship readiness programs.

Of the 4,800 individuals who have successfully completed a building trades apprenticeship readiness program since 2016, 70 percent were from communities of color and 22 percent were women. The disproportionately high-unemployment rates, combined with low participation rates from African Americans in registered apprenticeship programs not only constitute a national crisis but a national tragedy for the young African Americans, many of whom are fathers and mothers who, without jobs, are unable to provide for their families or home.