THIS SEARCH     THIS DOCUMENT     GO TO
Next Hit        Forward           New Bills Search
Prev Hit        Back              HomePage
Hit List        Best Sections     Help
                Contents Display   

GPO's PDF Display

Congressional Record References

Bill Summary & Status

Printer Friendly Display - 3,339 bytes.[Help]

Billno should always have and extension i.e. h1.ih

SRES 162 IS

Honoring tradeswomen.

June 9, 2003

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. KENNEDY, and Ms. CANTWELL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Honoring tradeswomen.

Whereas women worked side by side with men for long shifts under dangerous conditions to rescue individuals, remove debris, and prepare the sites for future use at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and in the Shanksville, Pennsylvania field after the September 11th terrorist attacks;

Whereas the number of tradeswoman has risen dramatically over the last 30 years, but remains startlingly low;

Whereas while the number of women carpenters has tripled since 1972, they still only represent 1.7 percent of workers in the occupation;

Whereas the number of electricians who are female has quadrupled over that same time period, yet women make up only 2.7 percent of electricians;

Whereas the number of women who are firefighters has increased sixfold, yet women account for only 3 percent of all firefighters;

Whereas the skilled trades industry is experiencing a significant labor shortage, which will be exacerbated over the next 2 decades as many skilled workers retire;

Whereas the United States Department of Labor projects job growth in the skilled trades industry at 12.3 percent through the year 2010;

Whereas the National Association of Manufacturers reports a projected need for 10,000,000 new skilled workers by 2020, and the Associated General Contractors predicts a shortage of 250,000 skilled workers per year;

Whereas the average age of a construction worker is 47;

Whereas many women are employed in jobs that pay only a minimum wage and do not provide benefits, such as health insurance;

Whereas 59 percent of women earn $8 per hour, and while women constitute 47 percent of the workforce, they make up 60 percent of the working poor;

Whereas 44 percent of women are reported to be the sole supporter of themselves or their families;

Whereas the majority of women are segregated into 20 out of 440 occupations;

Whereas women could increase their earnings significantly by obtaining skills that allow them to become tradeswomen, for example a journey level electrician will make over $1,000,000 more than a typical cashier in a 30-year career;

Whereas women make up 77 percent of all wait staff who earn $6.55 an hour, on average, and only 5 percent of truck drivers who make an average of $17.50 an hour; and

Whereas women need greater access to training and opportunities to participate in skilled trades occupations: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--

(1) there should be more attention paid to breaking down the barriers that women face in entering the skilled trades; and

(2) policymakers, labor unions, and industry leaders should look at different labor pools to address existing and future skills shortages.

THIS SEARCH     THIS DOCUMENT     GO TO
Next Hit        Forward           New Bills Search
Prev Hit        Back              HomePage
Hit List        Best Sections     Help
                Contents Display