[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
BUILDING A WORKFORCE
TO NAVIGATE THE ELECTRIC
VEHICLE FUTURE
=======================================================================
FIELD HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE,
AND TECHNOLOGY
OF THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
MAY 20, 2022
__________
Serial No. 117-57
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
47-530PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY
HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas, Chairwoman
ZOE LOFGREN, California FRANK LUCAS, Oklahoma,
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon Ranking Member
AMI BERA, California MO BROOKS, Alabama
HALEY STEVENS, Michigan, BILL POSEY, Florida
Vice Chair RANDY WEBER, Texas
MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey BRIAN BABIN, Texas
JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
MELANIE A. STANSBURY, New Mexico MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida
BRAD SHERMAN, California JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado DANIEL WEBSTER, Florida
JERRY McNERNEY, California MIKE GARCIA, California
PAUL TONKO, New York STEPHANIE I. BICE, Oklahoma
BILL FOSTER, Illinois YOUNG KIM, California
DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa
DON BEYER, Virginia JAKE LaTURNER, Kansas
CHARLIE CRIST, Florida CARLOS A. GIMENEZ, Florida
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois JAY OBERNOLTE, California
CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania PETER MEIJER, Michigan
DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina JAKE ELLZEY, TEXAS
GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin MIKE CAREY, OHIO
DAN KILDEE, Michigan
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
LIZZIE FLETCHER, Texas
------
Subcommittee on Research and Technology
HON. HALEY STEVENS, Michigan, Chairwoman
MELANIE A. STANSBURY, New Mexico RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa,
PAUL TONKO, New York Ranking Member
GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana
BILL FOSTER, Illinois JAKE LaTURNER, Kansas
CONOR LAMB, Pennsylvania PETER MEIJER, Michigan
DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina JAKE ELLZEY, TEXAS
C O N T E N T S
May 20, 2022
Page
Hearing Charter.................................................. 2
Opening Statements
Statement by Representative Haley Stevens, Chairwoman,
Subcommittee on Research and Technology, Committee on Science,
Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives........... 9
Written Statement............................................ 11
Statement by Representative Debbie Dingell, U.S. House of
Representatives................................................ 13
Written statement by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson,
Chairwoman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S.
House of Representatives....................................... 14
Witnesses:
Ms. Jennifer Mefford, National Co-Chair, Electric Vehicle
Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP)
Oral Statement............................................... 15
Written Statement............................................ 18
Mr. Benigno ``Ben'' Cruz, Director, Center for Advanced
Automotive Technology (CAAT), Macomb Community College
Oral Statement............................................... 24
Written Statement............................................ 26
Mr. Josh Nassar, Legislative Director, United Auto Workers (UAW)
Oral Statement............................................... 30
Written Statement............................................ 32
Ms. Marcia Black-Watson, Industry Engagement Division
Administrator, Workforce Development, Michigan Department of
Labor and Economic Opportunity
Oral Statement............................................... 42
Written Statement............................................ 44
Discussion....................................................... 52
Appendix I: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Mr. Josh Nassar, Legislative Director, United Auto Workers (UAW). 64
Appendix II: Additional Material for the Record
Letter submitted by Representative Haley Stevens, Chairwoman,
Subcommittee on Research and Technology, Committee on Science,
Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives
Anne Marie Graham-Hudak, Supervisor, Canton Township......... 68
Letter submitted by Mr. Marco A. Giamberardino, MPA, Vice
President, Government and Public Affairs, National Electrical
Contractors Association 70
BUILDING A WORKFORCE TO NAVIGATE
THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE FUTURE
----------
FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Research and Technology,
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
Washington, D.C.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a.m., in
the Oakland County Commission Chambers, 1200 Court Tower
Boulevard, Pontiac, Michigan 48341, Hon. Haley Stevens
[Chairwoman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Stevens. This hearing will come to order.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare recess at
any time.
Before I deliver opening remarks, I wanted to note that
today's Committee hearing is meeting both in person and
virtually, today's Committee hearing from the Science, Space,
and Technology Committee of the House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Research and Technology. Just a couple of
reminders for Members about the conduct of this hearing. First,
Members and Committee staff who are attending in person may
choose to be masked. It is obviously not a requirement.
However, any individuals with symptoms, a positive test, or
exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask while
present.
Members who are attending virtually should keep their video
feed on as long as they are present for the hearing. Members
are responsible for their own microphones. Please also keep
your microphones muted unless you are speaking. Finally, if
Members have documents they wish to submit for the record,
please email them to the Committee Clerk, whose email address
was circulated prior to the hearing.
And a special thank you to House Science Committee
professional staff for traveling from Washington, D.C., to
Oakland County, Michigan, for today's hearing, setting up the
virtual component, as well as the physical component of today's
hearing.
So good morning. It is so exciting to be gathered here in
Pontiac, Michigan, at the Oakland County Commission Chambers. I
am delighted to host today's hearing as your Subcommittee Chair
for Research and Technology, and I extend a warm welcome and
thank you to my esteemed colleagues and our distinguished panel
of witnesses, certainly, my colleague Congresswoman Debbie
Dingell, who has been a champion and a dealmaker of the subject
matter at hand, the electric vehicle (EV) workforce.
I also want to extend my gratitude to the Oakland County
Board of Commissioners. We are joined here today by
Commissioner Gwen Markham, but the whole Board of Commissioners
who has let us use their space, their convening space, and
certainly want to also offer up a special appreciation to
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter and Oakland County
Commissioner Chair David Woodward for their leadership not only
for our county but again for the subject matter at hand, how we
are going to win the future.
We are here today to examine how to build a workforce to
navigate the electric vehicle future. Michigan has been at the
forefront, as we well know, of automotive innovation for
generations. Not only did we put the world on wheels a century
ago at the beginning of the 20th century, but an entire
innovation ecosystem sprung up around transformative mobility.
So let's be clear. Michigan has led the way as the first
State to complete a border-to-border interstate in 1960, the
home to the first four-way electric traffic light installed not
far from here in Detroit in 1918. The first highway materials
testing lab in the Nation was opened in Ann Arbor in 1912, and
General Motors (GM) produced the first modern electric
automobile in 1996.
Now, our automotive companies, Ford, General Motors,
Stellantis, along with a remarkable supply chain that surrounds
us here today in Oakland County, Michigan, are leading the
world in electric vehicle technology and the innovation
ecosystems that are at the very backbone of the country's
economy.
As many of you know, chief among my priorities is to
champion our manufacturing economy and its workforce in the
halls of Congress. I've sought to understand challenges facing
local manufacturers, keep my finger on the pulse of their needs
through what I call Manufacturing Monday, my Manufacturing
Monday visits. Every week, I get the opportunity to see the
very innovation in the electric vehicle space that is happening
in our own backyard from Allison Transmission's facility in
Auburn Hills and Continental to Intecells reshaping battery
manufacturing technology in Troy to One Next Energy in Novi,
many of the guests before us here today paying witness to
today's hearing either virtually or in person here in the
Oakland County Commission Chambers. The opportunities, my
friends, are right here.
So not only has southeast Michigan been at the forefront of
industry, we have also had the enthusiasm for electric
vehicle--for an electric vehicle future from local leaders
hungry to become a part of the solution to a cleaner
environment, communities like Troy, Royal Oak, Berkley, Canton,
and Ferndale--we're joined here today by Ferndale's Mayor
Melanie Piana--are taking great strides to be the early
adopters needed to support the development and deployment of an
electric vehicle infrastructure, all of which will be fueled by
Michigan's workforce.
Michigan remains the preeminent automotive manufacturing
hub in our Nation. Our discussion today will focus on a vital
element of continuing this leadership, the workforce. Because
let's be clear, we can develop the most cutting-edge battery
technology in the world, but that innovation only translates
into economic and environmental benefits through the work of
talented men and women who make it happen on the factory floor
and in our communities as they're setting up the
infrastructure.
Our panel today includes representatives from the Michigan
Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), as well as
Macomb Community College, home of the Center for Advanced
Automotive Technology (CAAT), a National Science Foundation-
funded Advanced Technological Education center. They are doing
extraordinary work to prepare a workforce to power the electric
vehicle future. Many autoworkers have spent their entire career
in the field and are experts in what they do, so I'm also very
honored to have the United Auto Workers (UAW) here to discuss
paths that ensure the transition to electric vehicles that is
good for the environment and good for workers. We can't say
that enough.
We cannot discount workers or see them cut out of the deal.
We cannot see Michigan plants close at the expense of new and
proliferating technology. Oh, no, my friends, it will be
exactly the opposite. It needs to be more work and better jobs
and something that can be led by our friends in labor.
Manufacturing electric vehicles is just one of an
electric--one element of an electric vehicle future. The
bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which I was
proud to vote for and was signed into law just last November,
provides $7.5 billion, $7.5 billion to develop the electric
vehicle charging infrastructure with the goal of installing
500,000 public chargers nationwide by 2030. The communities I
mentioned here in Oakland County are ripe and ready for that
investment. Michigan will lead the way.
To meet these goals, we'll need a highly trained workforce,
though, capable of installing and maintaining these charging
stations. Unfortunately, we may be faced with labor shortage of
qualified electricians right here when we need them most. But
we have heard from stakeholders throughout southeastern
Michigan. We've heard from our friends in IBEW (International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers). Thirty-five percent of this
workforce is retirement ready and may leave in the next 5 to 7
years.
So I'm excited to hear more about the gold standard for
training electricians in the EV sector and the Electric Vehicle
Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP). There is a story to
tell coming out of southeastern Michigan that, despite a
pandemic and shutdowns and at times a stymied workforce because
of COVID-19, we never stopped, my friends. We never stopped
responding to PPE (personal protective equipment) shortages or
supply chain disruptions facing American consumers. In fact,
while the auto industry sourced and produced PPE and
ventilators, we continued innovating on the electric vehicle
front and the products and demand around the world.
Has it been easy? With a semiconductor and chip shortage,
certainly not. Do we still need to tackle that issue?
Absolutely, we do. But today, we are setting the stage from
Oakland County. We will remember this hearing and the
incredible words and recommendations of our witnesses. What we
discover, inquire, and capture here today will not only be for
memory, it will be etched in the congressional record as part
of our ongoing legislative body of work, how will electric
vehicle shape our workforce and how will our workforce lead?
[The prepared statement of Chairwoman Stevens follows:]
Good morning. It is so exciting to be gathered here in
Pontiac, Michigan at the Oakland County Commission Chambers.
I'm delighted to host today's hearing and extend a warm welcome
and thank you to my esteemed colleagues and our distinguished
panel of witnesses. I'd also like to extend my gratitude to the
Oakland County Board of Commissioners for letting us use their
space--and offer up my special appreciation to Oakland County
Executive David Coulter and Commissioner David Woodward for
their leadership.
We are here today to examine how to build a workforce to
navigate the electric vehicle future. Michigan has been at the
forefront of automotive innovation for decades. Not only did we
put the world on wheels at the beginning of the 20th century
with automobiles, but an entire innovation ecosystem sprung up
around this transformative kind of mobility. And let's be
clear, it was Michigan leading the way. As the first state to
complete a border-to-border interstate in 1960, the home to the
first four-way electric traffic light installed not far from
here in Detroit in 1918. The first highway materials testing
lab in the Nation was opened in Ann Arbor in 1912. And General
Motors produced the first modern electric automobile in 1996.
Now, our auto companies--Ford, General Motors and
Stellantis, along with our remarkable supply chain--are leading
the world in electric vehicle technology and the innovation
ecosystems that are the very backbone of our Midwestern
regional economy. As many of you know, chief among many
priorities of mine is to champion our manufacturing economy and
its workforce in the halls of Congress. I've sought to
understand the challenges facing local manufacturers through
what I call my Manufacturing Monday visits. Every week, I see
the innovation in the electric vehicle space that is happening
right in our own backyard. From Allison Transmission Facility's
in Auburn Hills to Intecells reshaping battery manufacturing
technology in Troy to One Next Energy in Novi. The
opportunities are right here.
Not only has Southeast Michigan been at the forefront of
this industry, but we also have the enthusiasm for the electric
vehicle future from local leaders--hungry to become a part of
the solution to a cleaner environment. Communities like Troy,
Royal Oak, Berkley, Canton, and Ferndale are taking great
strides to be the early adopters needed to support the
development and deployment of electric vehicle infrastructure.
All of which will be fueled by Michigan's workforce.
Michigan remains the preeminent automotive manufacturing
hub in our country. Our discussion today will focus on a vital
element of continuing this leadership--the workforce. Because
let me be very clear--we can develop the most cutting-edge
battery technology in the world, but that innovation only
translates into economic and environmental benefits through the
work of talented men and women who make it happen on the
factory floor.
Our panel today also includes representatives from the
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity as well
as Macomb Community College, home of the Center for Advanced
Automotive Technology, a National Science Foundation funded
Advanced Technological Education Center. They are doing
extraordinary work to prepare a workforce to power the electric
vehicle future. Many auto workers have spent their entire
career in the field and are experts at what they do. I'm happy
to have the United Auto Workers here to discuss paths that
ensure the transition to electric vehicles is good for the
environment, and is good for workers. We cannot discount
workers or see them cut them out of the deal. We cannot see
Michigan plants close at the expense of new and proliferating
technology. It needs to be the opposite: more work and better
jobs, and something that can be led by our friends at labor.
Manufacturing electric vehicles is just one part of an
electric vehicle future. The bipartisan Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act, which I was proud to vote for and was
signed into law in November, provides 7.5 billion dollars to
develop the electric vehicle charging infrastructure with the
goal of installing 500,000 public chargers nationwide by 2030.
To meet these goals, we will need a highly trained
workforce capable of installing and maintaining these charging
stations. Unfortunately, we may be faced with a shortage of
these qualified electricians right when we need them the most.
We have heard from stakeholders that in Southeast Michigan,
about 35% of this workforce is retirement-ready and may leave
in the next 5 to 7 years. I'm excited to hear more about the
gold standard for training electricians in the EV sector, the
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program.
There is a story to tell coming out of Southeastern
Michigan that despite a pandemic and shutdowns and an at times
stymied workforce, we never stopped. We never stopped
responding to PPE shortages or supply chain disruptions facing
American consumers. In fact, while the auto industry sourced
and produced PPE and ventilators, we continued innovating
electric vehicles and the products in demand around the world.
Has it been easy with semiconductor/chip shortages? No. Do we
still need to solve that problem: absolutely. But today, we are
setting the stage from Oakland County. We will remember this
hearing and the incredible words of our witnesses. What we
discover, inquire and capture here today will not only be
remembered, it will be etched into the Congressional Record as
part of our ongoing legislative body of work. How will EV's
shape our workforce and how will our workforce lead?
Before I introduce our witness, I'd like to ask unanimous
consent to enter into the record a letter of support from
Canton's Supervisor, Anne-Marie Graham-Hudak, highlighting the
importance of today's field hearing for local governments in
Michigan. Her letter outlined the creative ways Canton is
partnering with SEMCOG to apply for electric vehicle chargers
funding through the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the
workforce necessary to maintain and install chargers. I would
like to thank her for submitting a letter and for her passion
on this topic.
Chairwoman Stevens. So before I introduce our witnesses, I
would like to ask for unanimous consent to enter into the
record a letter of support from one of Michigan's 11 very own
Township Supervisors, Canton Township Supervisor Anne-Marie
Graham-Hudak, highlighting the importance of today's field
hearing for local governments in Michigan. Her letter outlined
the creative ways Canton is partnering with SEMCOG (Southeast
Michigan Council of Governments) to apply for electric vehicle
chargers funding for the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the
workforce necessary to maintain and install chargers. So I'd
like to thank Canton Township Supervisor Graham-Hudak for
submitting a letter and for her passion on this topic.
And at this time I would like to turn to Congresswoman, my
friend, Debbie Dingell, who will also give an opening
statement. Thank you.
Mrs. Dingell. Thank you, Chairman Stevens, for inviting me
and holding today's important field hearing to examine the
electric vehicle workforce needs that industry is facing.
Lawmakers need to understand it as we begin the
transformational shift toward electrifying the transportation
sector. If we are to be successful and continue our global
leadership in building the vehicles of the future right here in
Michigan, we will need a strong American workforce.
I've always been a car girl. I'm proud of it. Now I'm an EV
car girl, and I'm very proud of the fact that Michigan put the
world on wheels 100 years ago, and I want to make sure that the
United States and Michigan stays at the forefront of innovation
and technology worldwide and continues to be the mobility
leader.
The future of the auto industry is electric. We know this.
Michigan has been leading the way on this front. Ford,
headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, recently announced a new
global battery center in southeast Michigan and not only
unveiled the all-electric F-150 Lightning but is committed to
doubling down on its production to meet demands.
General Motors finally I mean, I'm, very--what we want to
do is be bringing these battery plants to Michigan, and it took
losing two Ford plants to, I think, wake up the Michigan
community that we want to make sure we are not losing those
plants. And General Motors will be, very excitingly, locating
their next battery plant in Oakland County where it really
matters. Stellantis is doing the same kind of work. A lot of
people are looking at locating the kind of work that we want to
keep here in Michigan.
I was very proud last year just--it was last August--to
stand at the White House with the President, all of the OEMs
(original equipment manufacturers), all of the
environmentalists, and the union presidents as the President
announced an ambitious new target to make half of all new
vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emission vehicles. And by the way,
that came about as the results of a lot of hard work, the
environmentalists and the union sitting down at a table, each
talking about their issues, talking about their concerns,
understanding each other's concerns, and working together to
find solutions to where the issues were going to be.
With this landmark announcement and with more and more EVs
expected to hit the road over the coming years, it's critical
we're getting the policies right so this transition is swift
and supports a strong American-built workforce.
I was at Region 1A, the UAW, with a cross-section of UAW
workers at Region 1A about a month ago, and interestingly, the
No. 1 issue and the only issue that most of them wanted to talk
about was training the workforce for the future, how people
were going to need skills, how these were complex vehicles.
People used to be worried and I think there's still some
anxiety that as you go from the internal combustion engine to
an electric vehicle, will there be fewer jobs? There will be
new jobs, different jobs, and the workers want to make sure
that they're going to be trained themselves and that there will
be workers that are going to be trained to work there with
them. That's very important.
So that's why today's field hearing is so important. The EV
workforce is essential to the future of this country, and what
better place for a field hearing than the home of where it all
began. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Chairwoman Johnson follows:]
Good morning and thank you to Chairwoman Stevens for
holding today's hearing. I look forward to a fruitful
discussion about the workforce needs that must be addressed in
order to usher in a bright future for the electric vehicle
industry.
Building a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics) workforce equipped to meet the needs of this
country's emerging industries is an urgent national challenge.
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology has worked
tirelessly over the past two years to develop important
provisions that have been included in the America COMPETES Act.
This landmark bill will accelerate progress on key emerging
technologies like quantum computing, artificial intelligence,
biotechnology, and clean energy technologies that power
electric vehicles. These technologies have the potential to
launch entirely new industries. They will help address pressing
societal challenges like climate change. They will bolster our
economy and our national security.
I am immensely proud of what we've been able to achieve on
a bipartisan basis. But the vision laid out in COMPETES can
only be realized if we have a skilled STEM workforce in place
to translate research and innovation into products and
services.
We need more technicians, manufacturers, software
developers, engineers, and scientists to come to the table. We
need to foster an inclusive culture to ensure students and
workers from all backgrounds can contribute their talents. Let
me be clear, our shortage of STEM workers is holding us back.
At the very moment when our global competitors and adversaries
are pulling ahead on critical technologies, we are struggling
to keep pace. It is time we learned a hard lesson from our past
mistakes. We cannot race ahead in developing cutting edge
technologies without building the workforce critical to
ensuring Americans will reap the benefits.
Thank you, again to Chairwoman Stevens for holding this
important hearing. I yield back.
Chairwoman Stevens. Great. And at this time I would like to
introduce our witnesses. Our first witness is Ms. Jennifer
Mefford. Ms. Mefford is the National Co-Chair of the Electric
Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program, EVITP, a volunteer
coalition of automakers, utility partners, and EV stakeholders
that delivers charging infrastructure, installation training,
and certification throughout the United States and Canada. Ms.
Mefford has more than 30 years of experience in business and
workforce development.
Our next witness is Mr. Ben Cruz. Mr. Cruz is the Director
of the Center for Advanced Automotive Technology at Macomb
Community College. CAAT is an Advanced Technological Education
center funded by the National Science Foundation, something
that we care a lot about on the Science Committee, that
partners with industry, education, government, and professional
organizations to deliver curricula and skills training in
advanced automotive technology programs. Prior to joining
Macomb Community College, Mr. Cruz was Senior Engineer Group
Manager for GM at the Warren Technical Center.
We are also joined here today by Mr. Josh Nassar. Mr.
Nassar is the Legislative Director for the United Auto Workers,
the UAW. In this role he works closely with Congress, the
executive branch, and stakeholders to design a legislative
strategy on labor, trade, environment, healthcare, defense,
energy, tax policy, and other issues. Mr. Nassar previously
worked as an Assistant Legislative Director for the Service
Employees International Union. He also worked as the Vice
President for Federal Affairs at the Center for Responsible
Lending and served as a Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman
Jan Schakowsky.
Lastly, we are also joined by Ms. Marcia Black-Watson. Ms.
Black-Watson serves as the Industry Engagement Division
Administrator for the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic
Opportunity. In this role she leads a team that promotes
demand-driven workforce-development strategies to help attract,
retain, and develop talent in high-growth, high-wage industry
sectors. Marcia has worked in the workforce development field
since 1998, spearheading a number of State-level taskforces,
projects, initiatives focused on meeting the workforce demands
of industry. In January 2021 she received very rightly the
State of Michigan Symbol of Excellence Award.
So our witnesses should know that you will each have 5
minutes for your spoken testimony. Your written testimony will
certainly be included in the record for the hearing. When
you've completed your spoken testimony, we will begin with
questions. Each Member will have 5 minutes to question the
panel. And if you're all right, Ms. Mefford, we'll start with
you for 5 minutes.
TESTIMONY OF MS. JENNIFER MEFFORD,
NATIONAL CO-CHAIR, ELECTRIC VEHICLE
INFRASTRUCTURE TRAINING PROGRAM (EVITP)
Ms. Mefford. Great, thank you, Chairwoman Stevens and
Congresswoman Dingell and distinguished Members of the
Subcommittee for inviting me to testify today. My name is
Jennifer Mefford, and I currently serve as the National Co-
Chair of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program,
or EVITP. It seems fitting to be here with you in Michigan
where EVITP began around the time of the launch of the Chevy
Volt. We began as a convening of stakeholders, including
automakers, utility companies, charging manufacturers, and
safety and electrical professionals, all focused on charging
installation best practices and standards and specifically the
critical role of the electrician with EV charging service and
maintenance.
Getting the charging experience and safety right was
critical then and it remains critical today, so we rolled up
our sleeves and build EVITP together. Partner advisors
volunteer time, expertise, and content to develop a
comprehensive brand-agnostic nonprofit training curriculum for
licensed electricians or, in States without licensing,
electricians with an equivalent of 8,000 hours of on-the-job
training.
EVITP training and certification is an 18-hour
comprehensive course plus a 2-hour proctored exam. To date,
we've certified thousands of qualified electricians in all 50
States and have hundreds of affiliated contractors and are
recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy and in the official
National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, NEVI, formula program
guidance to States as a highly regarded training program for
electricians working on EV charging installations.
EV infrastructure projects are primarily comprised of the
electrical construction work skills deployed by experienced
electricians every day. Adding advanced EVITP training to an
experienced electrician's considerable skills is critical to
performing accurate site assessment, load calculations,
adequate sizing, panel upgrades, and much more. It's not a
simple dryer outlet.
The majority of EV charging today happens at home. Single-
family, multifamily, apartment living, and the addition of new
capabilities like bidirectional charging for the Ford F-150
Lightning all present different site access, power
requirements, and states of readiness for an experienced
electrician to consider, other considerations like panel size
and capacity, for example. For example, in Detroit and
Cincinnati and many other cities, many homes have 60 to 100 amp
service, which is likely not enough to add charging right out
of the gate. And while upgrading electrical components and
panels does increase the cost of EV charging installations,
it's essential for the safety of workers, residents, and first
responders. It's really all about safety.
The role of the experienced electrician is critical,
especially in areas where electrical inequity may exist due to
older infrastructure. Currently, 17 States do not have--do not
require electricians to be licensed. The ability to verify
experience and expertise through a nationally recognized EV
training and certification program, EVITP, will ensure that
consumers in all market segments are working with highly
skilled, properly trained electricians. Again, it's all about
safety.
So how many electricians will it take to get the job done?
We're here in Michigan, so I'm going to cite a Michigan
example. There are currently 19,637 State-licensed electricians
and master electricians in Michigan. More than 450 have
advanced EVITP certification skills already. Again, we began 10
years ago, and we've been upskilling workers ever since.
Michigan has 6,577 registered apprentices. If Michigan installs
50,000 charging stations over the next 3 years working in crews
of varying sizes that include EVITP-certified electricians,
non-EVITP electricians, and electrical apprentices, Michigan
needs 90 EVITP electricians, 69 non-EVITP electricians, and 118
electrical apprentices to install 50,000 charging stations in 3
years. That's 277 electrical workers out of a total of 26,000-
plus or a little over roughly 1 percent.
So the good news is that, for today, we're OK, and that
really mirrors out across the country. Frankly, there's been
very little infrastructure that's come in, and we've been
actively upskilling workforce for a decade. So we're very
excited about where we go from here, but of course we have to
prepare not for where we are today but for where we're going.
We understand that this market is growing rapidly, and we need
to be on top of that and in front of it.
So from a workforce perspective, it's a great time to
become an electrician. It's a great time to be one and a great
time to become one. The entire industry is growing. Electric
vehicles, solar, energy storage, smart technologies, grid
improvements, and of course manufacturing for all these great
facilities to support the industry all offer workforce
opportunities for many, including electricians.
The best way to get more qualified electricians is through
the U.S. Department of Labor registered apprenticeship programs
and quality pre-apprenticeship programs. Registered
apprenticeship programs have a proven track record of success
in training individuals to succeed in the construction trades
for long-term careers with great wages, benefits, and
retirement security. Quality pre-apprentice programs prepare
individuals for registered apprenticeships. These programs are
crucial for engaging returning citizens, veterans, minorities,
and other underrepresented groups that have traditionally been
left out of the construction industry and oftentimes play a
critical role in remediating math skills that are so important
to be a highly qualified electrician. The industry will also
need more qualified electrical contractors. Partnerships with
community colleges and universities may offer vital dual track
education to prepare more electricians to become contractors.
Charging infrastructure plays a key role in the expansion
of the EV market. While the number of licensed and certified
electricians in the United States today is adequate for current
installations, additional training for existing experience
electricians and onboarding of new electricians through
registered apprenticeship programs and quality pre-apprentice
programs will be key to meet future demand. These need to be
dual tracks worked at the same time, but the good news is that
we have the infrastructure from a training perspective in place
to do that. The EVITP training and certification program
ensures a high level of electrical safety and performance in EV
charging installation in all markets.
Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. I look
forward to questions as we move through the meeting.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Mefford follows:]
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Chairwoman Stevens. We're one witness in, and we can
already tell we would like to be here all day, given how
exciting and important this topic is.
But with that, we're going to move to Mr. Cruz for 5
minutes of opening statement. Thank you.
TESTIMONY OF MR. BENIGNO ``BEN'' CRUZ,
DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR ADVANCED
AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY (CAAT),
MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Mr. Cruz. Thank you. Representative Stevens and
distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting
me to join this meeting--this hearing here today. My name is
Ben Cruz, and I'm Director for the Center of Advanced
Automotive Technology at Macomb Community College. And I am
honored to join the Committee to talk about building a
workforce to support the future of electric vehicles.
From my perspective and my role at Macomb Community
College, CAAT, CAAT is the Center for Advanced Automotive
Technology. I'm going to refer to it as CAAT from here on. I
believe that Detroit has taken a new leadership role in EV
engineering and EV manufacturing. Recent news from OEMs
including GM, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota, as well as other
companies, document that they are fast-forward in investments
in advanced EV technology, EV manufacturing, EV development, EV
design, and anything that has to do with the EV industry.
Equally significant is the number of tier 1 EV slot system
and component suppliers. These are the companies that supply,
you know, to the OEMs. They have a strong presence here in
Detroit and the Detroit area. While this is good for southeast
Michigan, our region is not alone in working to attract
electric vehicle manufacturing and related industries. Several
States are putting together great--a great deal of effort in
becoming significant players in the EV industry ecosystem.
Fostering and maintaining robust skilled--a robust, skilled
workforce will be a key component to attracting and retaining
these industry members. Currently, we have a shortage in
locally--here locally, and EV--in the EV technically skilled
workers in the area of vehicle development, vehicle design,
vehicle test, the research and development (R&D) activity. In--
that needs attention. Representatives from several of our
companies I've named have come to Macomb--to Macomb Community
College to look for potential employees. In most cases, they
are also looking for training programs to upskill their current
and incoming workers.
Developing courses and training programs in emerging
technologies requires input from industry experts. CAAT works
hard to keep current with training automotive advancements by
developing and cultivating partnerships with industry. We work
collaboratively with industry--working collaboratively with
industry is the foundation from which development--the
development of courses and programs come from, and this is for
degree programs and non-credited workforce training. The--this
ensures providing our students with the most relevant training
to support them in gaining higher technical skill sets that are
needed to work in the area companies involved in the electric
vehicle industry.
Macomb Community College offers associate degree programs
in automotive technology, engineering technology, including an
associate degree like the vehicle engineering technician
program, the automotive manufacturing technician program.
Additionally, Macomb Community College--Macomb CAAT also has
several courses in EV power electronics--electrical drive
systems, and as well as several industry-related workforce
development programs. Macomb vehicle--the--Macomb's vehicle
engineering technician program was developed with input from
Continental, Bosch, GM, and it's a unique program that blends
aspects of automotive systems, mechanical systems, electronics,
instrumentation, software skills, you know, in preparing these
students with an expertise to be able to work in engineering
laboratories, engineering test proving grounds, and other
development facilities of the OEMs.
Macomb CAAT also works to connect students to the next
level of education and automotive mobility-related programs.
Building on their initial education at Macomb, students can
pursue a bachelor's degree in automotive EV engineering
technology or a bachelor's of science degree in engineering
through our partners at Wayne State University, a local
university here in Detroit.
We also recognize the importance of introducing to the
youth the possibilities and opportunities of career and
emerging automotive technologies. We have STEM outreach
programs that span through 5th through 12th grade with hands-on
building projects that demonstrate the performance of wind
power, electrical solar cells, battery electric-powered cars,
embedded programming, autonomous vehicle systems, and then with
a 7th grade--7th and 8th grade students we work with
electrified and automated smart robot cars, engaging the
students in constructing and programming the microcontrollers
and then showcasing the autonomous vehicle performance.
Additionally, for high school students here at Macomb and CAAT
support First Robotics. We teach teams fabrication skills, and
we teach teams embedded microcontroller programming. You know,
this is something that's going to be used in the autonomous
vehicle area.
In conclusion, there is still a much--much work that needs
to be done, significant efficacy placed in training the new
workforce, upskilling incumbent workers, training
underrepresented populations, and conducting effective outreach
K through 12 to engage and expand youth interest in skilled
trades, technology, and emerging fields. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Cruz follows:]
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Chairwoman Stevens. Phenomenal. And with that, we'll hear
from Mr. Nassar for 5 minutes of testimony.
TESTIMONY OF MR. JOSH NASSAR,
LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, UNITED AUTO WORKERS (UAW)
Mr. Nassar. Thank you, Chairwoman Stevens and Members of
the Subcommittee and guests. I'm really honored to be here
today on behalf of not just the 1 million members of UAW and
retirees but also our President Ray Curry and the Executive
Board.
It's really fair to say that the majority of UAW's members
and retirees' livelihood and retirement security depends on the
success of the U.S. auto industry. There's an awful lot at
stake here for UAW members and retirees, but also it's much
broader than that because it's also we're talking about the
communities where folks live in and the fact that, you know,
auto manufacturing has always been the cornerstone of domestic
manufacturing in the United States. And as this transition
happens, we need to keep it that way.
But the reality is that U.S. autoworkers are facing a lot
of difficulties and headwinds. When you adjust for inflation
over the past 15 or so years, you see that wages have not kept
up with productivity and cost of living at all for autoworkers.
In fact, it's dropped by about 20 percent, again, when adjusted
for inflation. Why is that happening? Well, it's happening for
a plethora of reasons. You know, bad policies frankly, tax laws
that reward offshoring, trade policies that are for
corporations' interests rather than workers', weak labor law,
lack of worker centric procurement. But overwhelmingly, we've
lacked an industrial policy.
I think it's really important to point out that China, for
example, they have made at least $60 billion worth of support
to foster their EV industry, which is far ahead of ours. And
they're also dominating the supply chain. And some people tend
to--you know, will assume that they dominate the supply chain
for electric batteries because of some kind of geographic
advantage, but that's really not true. The vast majority of the
minerals, they are not located in China. It's just they've been
very proactive and they've had a policy of trying to secure
domination in EVs, we haven't done that.
And it's happening. The EV transition is happening. While
it's still a small percent of the overall auto market, there's
no question it's going to grow. So the question is not whether
more EVs are going to be on the road or built but where are
they going to be built and what kind of jobs are they going to
support? So it's really going to be important that the Federal
Government use all levers of power to ensure that taxpayer
money to support this industry is used in support of creating
and maintaining good union jobs. That's absolutely critical.
We have seen--you know, there's quite a few startups in
this industry. We don't know a lot of times kind of how they're
going to interact with the workforce, but we have seen
troubling things from many foreign-based auto companies who are
unionized in their home countries and then they come to the
United States, they take a very hostile view toward unions.
There are companies that have their only nonunion facilities in
the U.S.
So clearly we have a lot to do as far as labor law, as far
as creating incentives to reward the creation of good union
jobs. That's one of the reasons why we're so happy with the
House-passed Build Back Better and the Kildee-Stabenow EV tax
credit that actually encourages and rewards the creation of
good union jobs and also encourages cars to be made
domestically. We think that's really important, and we hope the
Senate, you know, will pursue those policies.
But the real bottom line here is that this--we cannot leave
workers behind. This cannot be a process where workers are an
afterthought, where we just leave it up to the--you know, the
decisions made in corporate board rooms to--and Wall Street to
decide where this industry is going to be built and where these
jobs are going to be made. And we need to secure the entire
supply chain from the gathering, you know, of minerals to the
production of the batteries, not just the battery packs but
the--all the way through.
As far as job training and getting folks ready, we
absolutely need to have a focus on that. I will point out that
UAW has successfully worked with many of our employers through
our collective bargaining to have really effective
apprenticeship programs. I think that's something that I've
encouraged the Congress and this Committee to look at where
people get--basically are skilled to the new technologies.
There's constant evolution in the auto industry.
Autoworkers are prepared to make the vehicles of the future.
They're doing it already. But this transition is not going to
be as successful, it's not going to be as good for workers as
it needs to be unless Congress is very proactive here and
unless we have very deliberate policies. And again, we can't
just go with the idea that, you know, whatever corporations
decide to do or invest in, that's going to solve it all because
that won't end well for working people and for our communities.
So thank you for the opportunity to testify. I really look
forward to answering questions. Again, it's an honor to be here
today. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Nassar follows:]
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Chairwoman Stevens. Great, thank you, Josh. And with that,
we'll hear from Ms. Black-Watson virtually.
TESTIMONY OF MS. MARCIA BLACK-WATSON,
INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT DIVISION ADMINISTRATOR,
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT
OF LABOR AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Ms. Black-Watson. Good morning. I apologize for not being
able to be there. My intention was--U.S. 23 North has been shut
down, and I am sitting on the side of the road with my hazard
blinkers on. But I'm happy to be before you this morning.
So Chairwoman Stevens and the distinguished Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you so much for the opportunity to testify
at this important hearing to explore the workforce needs of the
mobility and electrification industry. My name is Marcia Black-
Watson, and I serve as Industry Engagement Director for the
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Office of
Employment and Training. Our agency, also known as LEO ENT,
develops customized workforce solutions for both businesses and
individuals, including those individuals with disabilities. We
accomplish this through a myriad of programs hand-in-hand with
partners at the Federal, State, and local level.
Recognizing the importance of a future of mobility by
executive order, Governor Witmer created both a council and an
Office on Future Mobility and Electrification and the position
of Chief Mobility Officer within our department. The council,
who was responsible for public policy recommendations that will
maintain Michigan's leadership in mobility and electrification
cited in their 2020 report that industry is expected to need
12,000 new workers by 2030. Already since 2019 more than 15,000
mobility and automotive manufacturing jobs have been created,
many supporting increased EV manufacturing right here in
Michigan.
So as mobility and electrification continues to develop,
investments in manufacturing, technology, and testing are
leading to significant growth that we've heard about earlier in
our State, expanding opportunities for companies, investors,
and workers alike. Michigan is positioned--we have positioned
ourselves to be at the center of that growth by proactively
preparing the talent needed for current emerging and future
jobs and career pathways.
Now, one such effort at the State level is the Michigan
Revolution for Electrification of Vehicles, also known as the
Michigan EV Jobs Academy, which is the State of Michigan's
initial $5 million 5-year effort supporting an employer-led
collaborative approach. This approach is designed to respond to
specific knowledge and skill demands of the industry. LEO ENT
competitively awarded these grant funds to the Southeast
Michigan Community Alliance's Workforce Intelligent Network,
also known as SEMCA WIN, to sustain and expand the academy's
multiple collaboratives.
The SEMCA WIN partnership with LEO ENT leverages the
Michigan Alliance for Greater Mobility Advancement, or MAGMA.
It is an existing collaborative established in 2009 to address
skill gaps among professional workers such as technicians and
engineers needing training to design and build hybrid vehicles.
MAGMA has a governing board of OEOs, suppliers, and educational
institutions, and the academy leans on MAGMA's experience,
their established structure, leadership, and employer champions
for the development of its collaborative.
Using a multistep supply chain approach to workforce
development, the academy is focused on closing skill gaps
across the State and serving historically underrepresented or
underserved populations while creating a comprehensive end-to-
end talent pipeline. This will be done by the identification of
projected job openings, skills, and competencies by reskilling,
upskilling, and training both incumbent workers and jobseekers;
career awareness, exploration, promotion, and advancement
opportunities of in-demand occupations as well.
A recent survey of the academy employers identified top in-
demand entry-level, middle-skilled, and high-tech jobs. This is
from assemblers up to the career matter to electrical
engineering technologists. The academy will deliver measurable
return on investment for both employers and learners. Initial
outcomes include enrolling about 700 learners into training,
close to 500 completing training, and nearly 50 percent of
those obtaining new employment.
So by working collaboratively across both private sector
and the public sector, we will continue to encourage EV
adoption in Michigan, support our workforce, and build our
manufacturing core. So thank you for this opportunity again to
testify today on this important topic, and I look forward to
any questions that you may have.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Black-Watson follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Stevens. Well, thank you to our witnesses. And
allow me to say for the record I'm in my 4th year of chairing
this Subcommittee, and never have we had such a dedicated
witness. And if there is any member of the press here, let it
be captured beyond the record the true dedication that our
professionals and our stakeholders have to this technology, to
the workforce, and to the training of Michigan workers. This is
absolutely remarkable.
With that, though, since we are joined by a distinguished
colleague of mine from the Michigan delegation and also from
the Energy and Commerce Committee, I'd like to start with 5
minutes of questioning from my colleague Congresswoman Debbie
Dingell. Thank you.
Mrs. Dingell. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to start
with Mr. Nassar from the United Auto Workers if he can hear me.
Mr. Nassar, what are the potential consequences for the United
States' autoworkers if the United States embraces a rapid
transition to EVs without significantly scaling up domestic
manufacturing capabilities?
Mr. Nassar. Well, I mean, if we don't have the demand and
we don't have the infrastructure, the sales simply will not
happen to the degree that we need them to, and ultimately, the
EVs will be built elsewhere and will be imported. So, I mean,
what we really, really need to do is put policies--lower the
cost of EVs so consumers can--more consumers can buy them, and
we absolutely have to create the infrastructure and help the
retooling to make this happen. But I want to reemphasize, when
Federal money--when taxpayer money is given to companies, we
think that they have a responsibility to create good jobs and
to maintain good jobs in the United States.
Mrs. Dingell. So let me build on that. Do you think that
the current suite of Federal initiatives is paying enough
attention or we've done what we need to do to get to even that
50 percent goal for 2030? And then on top of that, do you think
we're doing enough for the workers' challenges and training?
Mr. Nassar. The answer is no, unfortunately, to those
questions. I don't think we're doing enough. I think the House
took some important action but, you know, there's not a bill on
the President's desk to really lower the cost of EVs and to
have, again, that support for the supply chain and for the
infrastructure. So I think a heck of a lot more investment is
needed and a lot more really what I would say is industrial
policy.
The other thing, too, is that we need to make sure that
these--the battery jobs are good union jobs. They're auto jobs,
no doubt about it, they're moving a car forward, but there's--
it's not assured by any way that they're going to be the good
middle-class union jobs that they need to be. So there's a lot
of open questions out there, a ton of work to be done. I hope
that answers your question.
Mrs. Dingell. Well, it does partially. I think that a lot
of people don't understand that there are a lot of things that
have to happen to get to that goal. And then I want to build on
that last point that you were making about what can be done to
mitigate the worker displacement and then ensure that these new
jobs are good-paying jobs and that are providing worker
protections, which many workers are worried about.
Mr. Nassar. Well, the first most fundamental thing is
making sure workers have an ability to have a voice on the job
because what we're seeing now not just in the auto industry but
across the economy is a really hostile atmosphere toward
workers having a voice. And workers having a voice, you have
more investment, you have better jobs, you have better
retention. That's just a fact.
But what we're seeing now is our labor laws, you know,
they're so anemic, the penalties are so weak for breaking the
law that it creates little disincentive for employers who are
just hell-bent on not having a unionized workforce with a
voice. So passing the PRO Act, which the House has done, the
Senate really needs to do that.
Just one thing, for example, captive audience meetings, in
most union drives, the vast majority of them where employers
are opposed, they'll have daily meetings where they force
workers to go in there and just get lectured about all the harm
that will happen to them and their career and their lives if a
union is there. And it really wears people down and it's
obviously very intimidating. That's something that the PRO Act
would eliminate, would not make them mandatory anymore. So
striking labor laws, giving workers a voice is the first
fundamental step, but again, you need these, you know, suite of
other policies to really make sure those investments and those
jobs are going to be in the United States.
Mrs. Dingell. Thank you. Not that I'm testifying, but I
want to add mineral development to that list and battery R&D.
Let me go to Ms. Mefford. The U.S. Department of
Transportation has launched its sixth round of funding to
establish alternative fuel corridors across the United States.
The Administration has also announced the new NEVI Formula
Program, which will provide nearly $5 billion over the next 5
years to help States create this network of EV charging
stations that we need along these routes.
First, can you articulate why it's important for the
economy that the United States continue to push for the
electrification of transportation infrastructure, including
through the creation of these charging stations across the
country?
Ms. Mefford. Sure. The infrastructure really plays such a
critical role in the growth of the market as a whole. Consumer
confidence, consumer ability to really--to purchase a vehicle,
make sure that it serves all of their needs, and that they feel
really comfortable and confident purchasing that vehicle is
very dependent on the infrastructure access. I have these
conversations often as I move through markets and around the
country. Consumers are very excited about the EV products
coming to market. The auto industry is doing an amazing job
designing and manufacturing really cool vehicles that people
want. The hesitation at this moment is still what does the
infrastructure piece look like? So I'm very excited about the
plans and the investment in building out these infrastructure
corridors.
While most charging is--still happens at the home, people
want to know they can get from place to place and drive and be
mobile in their communities and their lives as they normally
would with a different type of vehicle. So infrastructure plays
a key role in the expansion.
Mrs. Dingell. So I'm going to build on that. So I'm going
to submit questions for the record because I had three more for
you and we won't get it, but I don't think most people
understand that most people buying EVs right now are for short
distances. And what we're trying to do, by getting to that zero
emission by 2030 is that, you know, the F-150 will do
everything the F-150 can do now, including getting from here
all the way up to the Upper Peninsula. So can you be even
clearer that they want to know that they can get a charge if
they needed if that----
Ms. Mefford. Yes.
Mrs. Dingell [continuing]. If they're going to take a
longer trip?
Ms. Mefford. Yes, so, you know, I'm fortunate to be able to
talk to really a lot of consumers in convenings and have been
over the last 10 years. And this market is--has shifted so much
since that time. When the Volt came out, it was really designed
for the average driver going 40 miles a day, right? So
consumers want to have a vehicle that fits their complete
lifestyle, and they just want it to be electric. So go--being
able to--you know, Michigan, the amazing tourism State, they
want to be able to go from southeast Michigan up to Mackinac.
They want to be able to go across the State to the west side of
the State. They want to be able to live their lives as they
normally would just in an electric vehicle. That's where those
corridors and the thoughtful placement of fast charging, as
well as level 2 charging and the accessibility of that charging
becomes really critical.
I travel a lot for my work, and I'm on the road a lot, and
I--one of my considerations is where are those chargers
located. How does it feel when I'm there? Is it well-it? Are
there security cameras? What's happening to me as a consumer
when I'm interfacing with that charging station?
Again, infrastructure is just starting to come to the
market, but what's been in place at this point has been there
for a while in many instances, not uncommon for 25 percent of
charging stations to not be operable when you get there. That's
a huge issue. That's a huge issue for a consumer. So the
installation is a piece of it, the service and maintenance is
also a critical piece of it, but for me also the security and
the thoughtful, again, design and planning of where the
stations are and what that consumer experience looks like will
help accelerate this market.
The vehicles that are planned and coming out and being made
here--many here in Michigan, I mean, it's amazing. And they're
so exciting, but we have to shore up that infrastructure piece
to get those vehicles with consumers.
Mrs. Dingell. Thank you. I'm out of time, and I yield back,
Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Stevens. Thank you. And with that, the Chair
will recognize herself for 5 minutes of questioning.
We do have other Members of Congress participating in this
hearing who will be asking questions, and I will be recognizing
them next.
I also wanted to take a minute of personal privilege to
recognize the Mayor of Plymouth, Nick Moroz, who has joined us
as well. Plymouth, Michigan, has certainly been in the list of
communities that has been eager to be an EV infrastructure
adopter and has kept their eyes on the prize of this
proliferating technology opportunity.
And also as a point of personal privilege, given the nature
of this hearing, EVs are complicated, they are new, exciting
technologies, they are a moonshot of the 21st century,
something that we recognize is coming from a place called home,
a place called Michigan, but are also a part of the broader
plight of our automotive industry to achieve zero emissions,
right. It is common to say in industry zero emissions, not just
electric vehicles but also recognizing the potential that comes
from hydrogen technologies, similar development of skateboards
and I guess you want to say technology but also just
manufacturing.
And that also has a huge presence here in southeastern
Michigan from Forvia, otherwise known as Faurecia, a large tier
1 supplier producing hydrogen platforms for vehicles, Noble
Gas, which exists in Novi. And we also know in the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that hydrogen hubs were
designated--received designated funding and certainly want to
see Michigan in line for that as well, always in which we're
going to win the future.
But with that, the U.S. Department of Transportation, as
the previous questioner had mentioned, has announced that NEVI
Formula Program to provide nearly $5 billion in funding over
the next 5 years to help States create a network of EV charging
stations. And so just to dive a little deeper, Ms. Mefford,
just any other things that you can mention about workforce
barriers? And certainly in your testimony you give a lot of
notes of inspiration, which we appreciate, but any of the
workforce barriers that you could touch on to overcome getting
these EV charging stations into communities?
Ms. Mefford. Certainly, thank you. I--you know, our
training program is really designed for existing experienced
licensed electricians, and in States without licensing, those
that have 8,000 hours. So I think goal No. 1 was really to
upskill existing electricians to work very safely,
understanding that we're building skills, we're building a new
technology and EV charger infrastructure on top of existing
skill level. So that was really one of those--one of the first
goals.
The second goal of course looking at not only the EV
pipeline of work coming but looking at the integration of
solar, of energy storage, of security, of grid resiliency, all
of this is in that electrical space. So it really does need to
be a parallel effort to onboard new folks into an
apprenticeship.
One of the things I've seen that's worked extremely
successfully, especially in communities that may not be
interacting with the construction industry as a whole, are
qualified pre-apprenticeship programs where they're
experiential in nature and they let an individual look at the
electrical pathway, connect to it, have on-the-job experience,
all of it, and explore whether this is really for them and then
also be connected to those meaningful Department of Labor-
recognized apprenticeships. So it's truly a career pathway.
One of the barriers at that point can be math skills. It
absolutely requires a high level of algebra, geometry, and
trigonometry competency to be a successful electrician at this
level. So those qualified pre-apprenticeship programs and even
partnerships with our community college network can really help
address any of those deficits that may occur that might be a
barrier for an individual coming into a qualified pre-
apprenticeship, moving into apprenticeship, and then into a
successful career as an electrician. And the--you know, the
goal is to get them the training and the quality--the qualities
and qualifications where they can work in any electrical
sector, so it is truly a career pathway.
Chairwoman Stevens. Well, that is certainly quite powerful.
And, Mr. Nassar, in your written testimony you had
referenced the decision that I've been eying very closely for
Oshkosh Defense to move their awarded $6 billion contract--let
me say that again for the people in the back, $6 billion
contract to build the next generation vehicles for the U.S.
Postal Service to a totally new nonunion plant instead of
having UAW members in Wisconsin carry out this lucrative
contract.
We have seen the pitfalls that happen when some auto
manufacturers look to reduce their labor costs by building EV
manufacturing facilities in nonunion-friendly places where, you
know, right-to-work laws allow companies to shortchange their
workers on wages, benefits, and workplace safety standards. And
certainly, you know, the Congresswoman--the Chair is
enthusiastic for the PRO Act, but this egregious decision that
I reference is one of the reasons why I introduced the Union
Autoworkers Job Protection Act. This is a bill that require
bids and contracts to build motor vehicles for the Federal
Government to stipulate in which plants motor vehicles will be
made or assembled, so if a contract awardee wants to move
production, they must get written permission from the executive
agency and provide the same-day notification to impacted labor
unions when they seek permission.
So, Mr. Nassar, how can policy work to reverse the
migration of EV manufacturing to the south and reward employers
who are doing right by their workers?
Mr. Nassar. Well, I mean, you know, in addition to kind of
just have workers having a stronger voice in general, I really
think there has to be--you know, I like your legislation. There
has to be a real, you know, intentional effort to ensure that
companies who are benefiting from large public contracts, you
know, have an accountability for what they're doing with their
workforce. As far as we can tell--I mean, so there's an
incumbent workforce that's been there for, you know, over 80
years in Oshkosh that the company apparently is deciding to
ignore, and that's just unacceptable.
And so what has to happen is, I mean, we've got to have far
more transparency, and there really has to be--this has to be
taken into account. It needs to be a factor. Like how are the
taxpayer dollars, how are these investments going to impact the
communities, you know, where manufacturing is taking place and
the actual workforce? So just a far more deliberate and kind of
across-government approach is needed.
There's a lot of work to do in this area. It's a decision
that we hope the Postal Service in Oshkosh, you know, will
change and revisit and do the right thing here.
Chairwoman Stevens. Great. Thank you so much. And, Ms.
Black-Watson, what are the barriers to entry and retention for
women and people of color working in the EV automotive
electrician and construction occupations, and what steps is the
State of Michigan taking to provide more opportunities for
future EV workers from underrepresented groups?
Ms. Black-Watson. Thank you for that question. Yes, the
barriers really stem from a number of different factors. One is
awareness and exposure to opportunities of these careers and
career pathways that oftentimes individuals in underrepresented
population groups are not aware of. And then--so really being
very intentional and strategic about outreach and promotion,
and that's why some of our efforts are really focused on
working very closely with our workforce development boards, the
16 across the State or the Michigan Works! agencies, as well as
the community colleges that have access to individuals with
underrepresented populations.
Another barrier oftentimes are sort of the upfront
requirements, and some of the employment barriers that really
exist if you're thinking about--I mean, we've seen this a lot
with the pandemic, childcare and transportation to these
employment opportunities, and so our efforts really stem
toward, one, assessing and identifying these barriers; and then
two, making sure that there are supportive services that are
available to mitigate the barriers, not just to employment but
also to education and training.
We've talked about the various modes of training, including
courses and programs, degree programs, as well as registered
apprenticeship programs. So we certainly want to make sure that
underrepresented populations who haven't been able to enjoy the
benefits of education and training and the good-paying jobs
that are associated with this industry have the ability to do
so by mitigating those barriers from all different facets.
Chairwoman Stevens. Great, thank you so much. And I am out
of time, but I certainly don't want to overlook Mr. Cruz and,
you know, the role you are playing in our EV workforce, so we
will dogear that. And I will--or I will turn to my colleague
Congressman Tonko from New York, who's joined us virtually for
5 minutes of questioning. Thank you so much for being here,
Congressman Tonko.
Mr. Tonko. It's my pleasure, and thank you, Chair Stevens,
for holding what I believe is a very important hearing on a
critical topic, a vital topic. And I do appreciate your
enthusiasm.
America's auto industry has a strong history with union
labor. Good union autoworkers jobs have supported the building
and the strengthening of our American middle class. It is
crucial that we continue this tradition as we move forward into
the next era of transportation.
As part of that, it's also very important that we make
certain that the EV workforce is representative of our diverse
society and that everyone has access to good-paying, secure
jobs in this sector. So I'm proud and pleased to see community
colleges represented here today. I think these institutions are
invaluable to the training of skilled technical workers for the
growing clean energy sector. In my district, Hudson Valley
Community College is doing a fantastic job with the critical
mission of training people for clean energy and advanced
manufacturing jobs, and they have emphasized that they're going
to make certain that the diversity of my district is well-
represented in that workforce pipeline.
So, Mr. Cruz, can you share with us more about the role of
community colleges in developing a diverse technical workforce
and what further support would be helpful toward that mission?
Mr. Cruz. Yes. First of all, there is--there are obviously
some--excuse me, there are obviously some barriers to get, you
know, more students into the community college, and some of
those have to do with what Mrs. Blackstone--Black-Watson was
talking about, and that's the barriers of transportation, the
barriers of childcare, you know, giving--or offering an
opportunity to pay for an education via a scholarship or a
grant, you know, for an individual doesn't necessarily give
that person the ability to attend those classes because there
are many other problems with--in the underrepresented areas
that can be significant barriers to even getting that
education.
Additionally, there are some academic barriers that has
been stated a little bit here with Mr. Nassar--or, yes, Mr.
Nassar and Mr.--and Mrs. Watson that, you know, there's the
mathematical barrier. You know, there is--oh, I'm sorry, that
was you--that there's a barrier, you know, to the math that's
actually required in some of the electrical and some of the
pre-engineering classes that are at community colleges.
However, that is being mitigated by providing tutors, by
providing people that can actually coach, you know, these
individuals to be able to, you know, get that background, you
know, to be able to continue and finish the courses.
In terms of, you know, recruitment, you know, our community
college certainly has, you know, a process and a strategy to be
able to go out and do outreach in the lower socioeconomic
areas, the underrepresented areas, and we are pushing to make
sure that we do offer these areas an opportunity to come to
school and have the opportunity to come and, you know, take
part in a lot of our educational classes at Macomb.
Mr. Tonko. Thank you. And I understand from IBEW that the
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program is vital to
strengthening their members' skills in EV infrastructure
installation. So, Ms. Mefford, can you speak to EVITP's role in
supporting a union workforce and how the program contributes to
equity both in workforce numbers and in access to EV
infrastructure?
Ms. Mefford. Yes, thank you for the question. EVITP is open
to all, so we are really an industrywide program, and we look
to certify qualified electricians that are licensed in States
with licensing and electricians in States without licensing
that have 8,000 hours of experience. We are really looking to
support electricians at a high level to make sure that they
have specific training for the EV industry to make sure that
all those installations are done safely.
One of the things I wanted to just circle back on, too, is
some of our efforts. We were fortunate enough to work with
Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge on
26 cities in the United States to deliver scholarships to
qualified electricians. Fifty percent of those scholarships for
EVITP training were for women and underrepresented groups. So
we are actually currently in the process of doing that right
now, but there are over 1,200 scholarships that have been
awarded around the country to make sure that those existing
qualified electricians in underrepresented groups are receiving
EVITP training.
Certainly, we support union electricians. We support
nonunion electricians. We are really looking to create a
wonderful standard of safety and competency in the electrical
industry to support EV charging.
Mr. Tonko. Thank you. I ran out of my time, I see, but Mr.
Nassar, I'll get a question over to you and have you respond in
writing, but it was about describing some of the benefits of
historically having a unionized automaking workforce in the
United States, so if you could share that in written context
with the Committee--Subcommittee, I would appreciate it.
And with that, Madam Chair, I yield back, and I applaud
your leadership on the issue.
Chairwoman Stevens. Yes, thank you so much, Congressman
Tonko, and thank you for your leadership and always the bright
contributions to this Committee and our hearings.
I am really excited to introduce our next Member of
Congress who's joining us virtually, a dear friend as well,
Congressman Don Norcross from New Jersey.
Mr. Norcross. Well, thank you, Madam Chairwoman. And we
really appreciate the kind introduction and, more importantly,
thank you for holding this hearing. The vision and knowing what
this means to our country and to the next generation of workers
is incredibly important, and again, we appreciate it. And I
wish that all our Members could be here today listening to what
is going to be the future. And I know we use that quite often,
but this is real.
So I love hearing questions from my colleagues about
electricians. Gee, I happen to be one. We have 200 lawyers, God
bless them, but we have an electrician. And certainly going to
the other 4-year school, which was an apprenticeship, gave me a
little bit different view. And I had been following this, been
out to Michigan several times, you know, you have a great
district, Ms. Haley, and, more importantly, while I was out
there, one of the major features we were looking at was the
next generation of technology. I was over at GM, the battery
technology development of fuel cells. And I Chair, in addition
to being on Education and Labor, Tactical Air and Land, which
talks about our military and where they're going.
So GM literally is on the cutting edge of the ISV (Infantry
Squad Vehicle). It's their next generation of squad vehicle,
how it can be electrical. And that technology, as I went
through the plant, is just sitting there on display and being
put right into not only the cars we're driving on the road, but
helping to make sure that our servicemen and women have the
best, appropriate vehicles that they can have, and that happens
to be electric in many cases.
So when I hear about trained electricians, standards, we
see the difficult fight between what they want to do is break
down those standards, and this is why this program that, Ms.
Mefford, you're talking about, the EVIT program, becomes very
personal to me, A, to make sure those who are going to install
it have the right training, in addition to making sure that
they have a job that pays the right amount and benefits and
certainly retirement, but it gets installed correctly because
what--I've seen unfortunately what happens when that doesn't
happen. Not only does the worker get injured or killed, but in
this case when you go to plug in your car, you want to make
sure it's correct and it doesn't blow up, kill you.
So talk to me about those standards that are set into place
here and why that's important. Because you mentioned we're
taking those who have been through an apprenticeship or a
training program 8,000 hours, but this is additional training
because of its connection to not only cars but people.
Ms. Mefford. Yes, thank you for that question. So EVITP
began really as this coalition of stakeholders that really
wanted the EV industry to evolve out of safety, right? They
wanted to make sure that installations were done safely and at
the highest level, and that included automakers and utility
companies and the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association)
and NEIS (National Electrical Installation Standards) and
everybody that needed to look at this to make sure that we were
building a program that met all those needs. The goal has
always been to make sure that installations are done safely for
any market, residential, commercial, public fleet. And it
continues to be that today.
So that's why we built this additional credential for
qualified electricians that's 18 hours. It speaks to every
aspect of the charging infrastructure industry locale, site
assessments, the integration of solar, storage, you name it.
This market is changing so rapidly. And one of the things that
I think is so powerful about the partner advisor group that is
still with EVITP today is that they are from industry. So as
the industry changes and advances, as charging technology
changes and advances, we are able to source that material
directly from industry and integrate it into the curriculum,
which keeps it fresh. We're on our fourth iteration of EVITP
right now. It's a dramatically different course than it was 10
years ago because this is a dramatically different EV industry.
It will change again.
I am personally very excited to see the advances in
charging technology, bidirectional charging, sequential
charging. I think that in 5 years, 3 years we'll probably see a
whole different level of charging in vehicle than we are today,
and that's really exciting, but that will require us to
continue to evolve training and to make sure that qualified
electricians and credentialed electricians are the ones that
are interacting with this technology because on the other end
of it they are consumers, and it needs to be done properly and
safely. Thank you.
Mr. Norcross. I certainly appreciate, as my time runs out,
just to reiterate that the connection to those existing
particularly in apprenticeship programs, whether it's the IBEW,
which has the largest, is that as it changes--and you mentioned
you're already through four changes, it continues to connect to
those electricians in the field so they have the latest and
safest way of doing it.
And with that, Madam Chairwoman, again, I appreciate the
hearing, and I yield back.
Chairwoman Stevens. Well, thank you, and I think all of us
can see here in Oakland County how fortunate we are in the
Congress to have such engaged colleagues and eager champions of
the topic at hand.
And I want to thank our witnesses for joining us today. As
I mentioned in the opening remarks, this hearing is absolutely
historic. It is absolutely a part of the House record. It is
absolutely a part of a moonshot that we are leading here in
Oakland County and throughout southeastern Michigan. And it's
also been a little historic because we've had witnesses engage
in a hybrid fashion. Again, you know, our deep appreciation to
Ms. Black-Watson for her dedication and Zooming in from her car
to testify. I think the things that she was able to touch on--
and by the way, for those who listened to her opening remarks,
her written opening remarks, alongside our other witnesses,
were really quite fantastic with some of the charts and the
graphics and the deep thinking that the State of Michigan
through LEO is bringing to just this one workforce topic on EVs
and absolutely needs to be commended and particularly through
the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion, something we hear
over and over and over again on the Science Committee. Let's
not leave people behind, right? Let's not leave behind our own
talent geographically or demographically.
And certainly, you know, I laud the testimony of, you know,
our other witnesses from UAW to our training programs here at
the community college and those that Ms. Mefford mentioned. So
that's the deep gratitude to our witnesses, the deep gratitude
to our audience members, particularly our community members as
well. We have the--we did have for most of the hearing the head
of Oakland County's Economic Development here, as well as the
support of our Oakland County Commissioners.
So we will leave the record open for 2 weeks for additional
statements from Members and for additional questions that the
Committee may ask of our witnesses. I know Congresswoman Deb
Ross from the Research Triangle in North Carolina was on for
part of the hearing and plans to ask some questions, as well as
fellow Committee Member Congressman Bill Foster of Illinois,
who had kind of a prehearing to this one in his role on
oversight around the R&D needs, the battery needs, the supply
chain needs, the technical needs.
So with that, the witnesses are excused, and the hearing is
now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:34 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
Appendix I
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Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Answers to Post-Hearing Questions
Responses by Mr. Josh Nassar
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Appendix II
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Additional Material for the Record
Letter submitted by Representative Haley Stevens
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Letter submitted by Mr. Marco A. Giamberardino,
National Electrical Contractors Association
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