Written Testimony of Michael R. Bertolone in Support of HB 235

Summary

Written testimony dated March 8, 2022 from Michael R. Bertolone, Business Manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 18, addressed to Chairman Dick Stein and members of the Ohio House Commerce & Labor Committee in support of HB 235, the High Hazard Training Certification Act. The letter describes Local 18 as over 15,000 heavy equipment operators, investing over $12 million per year in training at four training centers, with apprentices completing 4,000 hours of on-the-job training per year. It states that HB 235 would require state or DOL approved apprenticeship training and OSHA hazard recognition training for external, contracted construction workers at high-hazard sites, and does not apply to refinery full-time employees. The testimony urges the committee to report HB 235 favorably.

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MICHAEL R. BERTOLONE Office: (216) 432-3138

Business Manager

LOCAL 18 MBertolone@iuoelocall18.org

www.0E18.org

3515 Prospect Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115

March 8, 2022

Honorable Dick Stein

Ohio House Commerce & Labor Committee
77 S. High Street, 12" Floor

Columbus, OH 43215

Chairman Stein, Vice-Chair Johnson, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan & Members of the House
Commerce & Labor Committee:

The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 18 is made up of over 15,000
professional men and women who operate heavy equipment in all aspects of construction here in
Ohio. In 1939 our International Union amalgamated six (6) operating engineers locals in Ohio
into one operating engineer local, which became Local 18. The reason for this was to allow our
members and our contractors to mobilize to any part of our jurisdiction to supply Ohio’s Heavy
Highway and Building Industries with skilled, professional, and safe heavy equipment operators.
Our jurisdiction covers eighty-five (85) counties in Ohio and four (4) northern counties in
Kentucky.

In total, Local 18 invests over $12 million per year to give Operating Engineers the skills they
need to build Ohio. In partnership with the Ohio Contractor’s Association and the Ohio Building
Chapter of the Associated General Contractors, we provide state-of-the-art training in four (4)
all-weather training centers in Logan, Richfield, Cygnet, and Miamisburg, Ohio. Our members
log more than 200,000 training hours in nearly 50 courses per year.

We believe it is an industry responsibility to train the next generation of Ohio’s construction
workforce. Our apprentices in our four-year program must log at least 160 hours per year at the
training site and complete 4,000 hours of on-the-job training per year. Additionally, apprentices
must demonstrate proficiency on one machine per year in each program year. Safety is
paramount in all of our training applications.

Accordingly, Local 18 would like to support the passage of HB 235, the High Hazard Training
Certification Act.

HB 235 emphasizes the need for (i) state or DOL approved apprenticeship training and (ii)
OSHA safety and health hazard recognition and prevention for external, contracted-for
construction workers. It is important to reiterate that HB 235 does not apply to the refinery’s full-
time employees. Instead, HB 235 is narrowly drafted to apply only to external construction.
Workers brought on-site for short durations to complete shut-downs, turnarounds, and
maintenance projects.

By requiring minimal industry standards for construction workers at high-hazard construction
sites, the state of Ohio is helping to ensure the safety of the external construction workforce, the
full-time employees of the refineries, and the communities that support these facilities.

Additionally, HB 235’s training and safety standards will help prevent the importation of
unskilled cheap labor for Ohio’s most dangerous construction job sites. It is well-documented
that, particularly for construction, a lack of training leads directly to higher human error rates. As
Scott Hayes from PBF Energy testified, oil refineries are not the place to cut corners on safety.

Accordingly, I urge the House Commerce and Labor Committee to report HB 235 favorably.
Thank you for your careful consideration of this critical legislation.

Sincerely,

M iba ® Datetorr

Michael R. Bertolone
Business Manager, IUOE Local 18

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