Worker Wellness Blog: Potential Changes That Directly Affect Workers
Date Posted: April 29, 2025
Posted In: Discussion, Workforce,
by Dr. John Gaal
Editor’s Note: Each week, Dr. John Gaal, director of worker wellness for the Missouri Works Initiative, a non-profit workforce formed by the Missouri AFL-CIO, collects and comments on news and trends in workforce wellness and life balance. Construction Forum carries the Worker Wellness & Well-Being Blog as a regular feature.
The MO Works Initiative focuses on creating healthy and recovery friendly workplaces; connecting laid-off workers with job-search or upskilling resources for future employment; and collaborating with community partners to offer innovative points of entry to traditional apprenticeship opportunities.
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at the importance of connection for older men; to the health benefits of taking a vacation; to the positive impact Pope Francis had on everything from social justice to climate change to international diplomacy. (I tip my hat to the late Pope who reminded us that, “A bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”)
This week I would like to take this opportunity to examine potential changes to workforce laws and systems that directly affect workers across the spectrum.
In general, readers should take note that Trump gets a second bite at the apple with regards to apprenticeship.[1] In his first term, Trump tried to push through an alternative system of registered apprenticeship known as IRAP (industry-recognized apprenticeship programs). Truth be told, this was nothing more than a ‘rubber stamp’ credential with little to no oversight from US-DOL’s Office of Apprenticeship field reps (known as ATRs) and/or workers.
Sadly, this IRAP completion credential’s certificate would mirror that of the RAP (registered apprenticeship programs) while unfortunately driving down its longstanding value in the US marketplace. To those of us who are products of RAP-affiliated trade programs in the Midwest, IRAPs will do more harm than good since quality control differs from company to company. The beauty of the ‘tried and tested’ RAP system is that oversight comes from three perspectives: labor, management, and government — which equates to a known value based on area standards and thus stability.
In the proposed IRAP system, a company could solely design the entire apprenticeship without input from the workers and as mentioned earlier, little to no input from regional ATRs. Growing apprenticeship for the sake of pumping up numbers at the expense of quality outcomes is just another example of how a lack of transparency leads to more conflicts of interest. And, in the past 100 days, haven’t we had enough of this kind of chaos?
From a more specific standpoint, one needs to consider how states and their governors are dragging our workplaces back to the early 1900s. How? Just take a few minutes to read the article linked below pertaining to Florida’s DeSantis’ attempt to repeal Child Labor laws…under the façade of worker shortages.[2] Yes, I acknowledge some sectors have a shortage of workers but putting children at risk of losing lives or limbs is NOT the way to address this matter. Yes, I also acknowledge that not all jobs or industries are as dangerous as construction or mining. To the former, these laws were established — for the most part — as reactions to children losing their lives or being permanently scarred in factories, mines, etc. To the latter, I ask why is it so difficult to fill those job slots? As cited in this article, people who work in resorts need not be immigrants. OK, then maybe it is time for management to consider its corporate culture and compensation packages in order to attract today’s teenagers.
Since our future is in the hands of our children, it is high time we live by our words: Safety First!
Please check out the rest of this week’s blog: https://moworksinitiative.org/category/worker-wellness-news/
Sources:
[1] https://www.ccdaily.com/2025/04/washington-watch-trump-signs-executive-order-on-workforce-programs/
[2] https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/florida-child-labor-laws-restrictions-cc8fda67