[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 162 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 162

                         Honoring tradeswomen.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
                         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.
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