August 16 - Congress Passes the National Apprenticeship Act

Labor History in 2:00 · Aug 16, 2026 · 1m

On this day in Labor History the year was 1937.

That was the day that the U.S. Congress passed the National Apprenticeship Act.

It was also known as the Fitzgerald Act.

The purpose of the act was “to formulate and promote the furtherance of labor standards necessary to safeguard the welfare of apprentices.”

Apprentices are workers learning a skill set.

They are typically paid less than skilled workers or journeymen during the course of their training.

Apprenticeship programs are especially found in the building trades, where learning skills like plumbing or electrical work might take years of…