Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust Executive Director Pete Ielemini made his monthly appearance on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the need to educate legislators and those effected by the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act (FMIA) to dispell myths surrounding the bill.
Ielemini gave a general overview of the FMIA, which would not only ensure federal buildings use mechanical insulation, but mandate the product be installed by skilled workers.
He then debunked several myths surrounding the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act. Ielemini pointed out the FMIA is not a union bill, but will requires whoever performs the work to install mechanical insulation within federal buildings to have a certain level of training in order to ensure the work is done correctly.
Investment in apprenticeship training, he argued, is key in turning out Insulators who are properly trained to correctly install mechanical insulation and save taxpayer money, should the FMIA become law. If a non-union contractor wants to bid on this work, they need to make a similar investment in apprenticeship training as Insulator Local Unions.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about the Federal Mechanical Insulations Act and apprenticeship training.