05/13/2026
BLACKROCK, ABBOTT, AND TSTC CALLED IT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
Texas electricians saw the shortcut.
On May 6, Governor Abbott stood with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at TSTC to celebrate a $30 million electrical workforce initiative.
BlackRock’s own announcement says the TSTC grant supports a new electrical technology program creating a college-based pathway to prepare students to test for a journeyman license.
Then came the proposed TDLR JEEP rule — an accelerated pathway that would have given major on-the-job training credit for completing an approved education program.
That is the problem.
A journeyman license is not a press conference prop.
It is not a workforce pipeline metric.
It is not a corporate philanthropy deliverable.
And it is not something politicians should cheapen to meet construction demand.
We support education.
We support real training.
We support bringing more Texans into the electrical trade the right way.
But classroom and lab instruction should not be treated like thousands of hours of supervised field experience.
Texas electricians showed up.
The advisory board vote was 4–3 against JEEP.
That should send a clear message to BlackRock, Governor Abbott, TSTC, TDLR, and anyone else trying to rush people toward a journeyman license:
Fund training.
Respect apprenticeship.
Protect the license.
Do not water down the trade.
Apprenticeship builds electricians.
Shortcuts build problems.
Texas AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
Amarillo Central Labor Council
West Texas Building and Construction Trades Council
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
