Legislation is quickly moving through Trenton that will have a devastating impact on New Jersey’s merit shop electrical contractors. With a vote confirmed by the assembly on Mon., Dec. 20, 2021, it’s critical that you act now and tell your state legislators to Vote No on critical bills.
Visit the IEC political action form to directly contact your New Jersey state Senator and Assembly Members with the following message:
I am a small merit shop electrical contractor in your district and member of the New Jersey Chapter of the Independent Electrical Contractors, I’m writing to ask that you vote NO on S4247/A6108, S4207/A6119, and S2051. Each of these bills would have a devastating impact on the state’s merit shop contractors, which make up 80% of the state’s construction trades.
NO on S4247/A6108: Assemblyman DeAngelo states he is moving this bill to enhance consumer protection. With that stated objective it is ironic the bill moves the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors out of the Division of Consumer Affairs under the Attorney General and into the Department of Labor. The stated purpose is that there are not enough inspectors to police unlicensed electrical contracting within the Division of Consumer Affairs. We agree that’s a problem, so why not move more inspectors into the Division of Consumer Affairs instead of moving the consumer protection function to the Department of Labor that can’t even process unemployment checks? Additionally, the bill would require licensing of apprentices and journeymen. Interestingly, the bill allows journeymen to be licensed by means other than passing an exam as well as allow for the licensing of out of state electrical employees. If this bill is about consumer protection, why isn’t everyone required to sit for a licensing exam? Why is there a journeyman loophole?
NO on S4207/A6119: This bill adds unnecessary hurdles to business like mine to be a public works contractor. In 2019 the Legislature mandated that I must participate in a USDOL apprenticeship as a condition for being a public works contractor. Now this bill impermissibly allows the NJ Commissioner of Labor to determine if my business is in compliance with federal apprenticeship regulations. This is just more NJ red tape bureaucracy.
NO on S2051: This bill prohibits my employees from working on a residential light frame (wood) construction project of more than two dwellings because they aren’t in a union. This is outrageous. It is also pre-empted by federal law.
It is hard enough being a small business in New Jersey, please do not make it any more difficult.
Vote NO on S4247/A6108, S4207/A6119 and S2051.