Do plumbing licensing laws really protect the public?

BY RICHARD P. DiTOMA,
contributing writer

Paul A. Baumgartner of Batavia Plumbing Co. in Illinois recently sent me an email about a problem plumbers are encountering with unlicensed persons doing plumbing work in his state. To further exacerbate the problem, Paul said that government agencies were delinquent in performing their duties concerning that situation. These problems are not unique to his area. You have probably encountered similar situations in your area.

Paul writes, “I have been a plumber since 1959, and I’ve been in business since 1980. I will be honest with you. With the way things are now, it sucks being a plumbing contractor. You are better off being a handyman and doing plumbing. Why, you ask? I served five years as an apprentice. I took an all-day test to get my license. Now I have to do four-hour classes every year and send a copy of my schooling to the state to renew my plumbing license. Then I have to send copies of all my insurance and a $50,000 bond to get my plumbing contractor’s license. What for?

“We have handymen, remodelers, carpenters, softener installers and heating people putting in water heaters, etc., and no one is out there to stop them. Why do I have to go by the rules? Pick up any newspaper. Look under handymen ads. Most have the words plumbing, painting, etc. Most heating men here put in water heaters. You should see some of the installations done by water softener people. Carpenters do their own plumbing on their remodeling projects. Countertop people hook up their own sinks for their customers. Who is watching all this going on? Why are newspapers allowed to take ads with the word plumbing in them without a plumbing license number?

“I used to take those ads and send them to the local state plumbing inspectors. They told me ‘no more.’ The plumbing inspectors used to send the ads to the Illinois Dept. of Health in Springfield, but they say that they don’t have the money or resources to do anything about it. How do we educate the consumer to know that they must ask anyone in their house doing plumbing whether they are a licensed plumber and a licensed contractor? Isn’t this the State’s job? (That’s a big laugh.) It’s not fun being in the plumbing business if we have to compete with all the unlicensed people doing plumbing.

“We pay the state health department a fee to be a plumber and a fee to be a contractor. Where is all the money going? Imagine if we had everyone out there practicing medicine without a license. They would be in jail. How about someone policing our industry and putting a few handymen in jail for doing plumbing without the proper license? (Another joke.)

“I have written to newspapers and to TV stations like I’m writing to you. They are not interested. We have some very loyal plumbers in our industry to whom I talk. They tell me to call Springfield, but the people on the other end of the line can’t wait to get off the phone. If someone would listen to me, I would gladly talk to Congress, Springfield representatives, etc. As you can see, most of us plumbers are disgusted with our industry.”

Paul ended his email with, “Thank you for your time, Paul the real plumber, not Joe the pretend plumber.”
I know how you feel, Paul, and I’m listening. Your email certainly reinforces Ronald Reagan’s statement that “Government isn’t the solution to our problems, government is the problem.” If legislators make laws that are not equitable, intelligent, purposeful and uniformly enforced, those laws become a joke, because they are capricious. And if the people who are supposed to enforce them don’t do so in a uniform manner, they are guilty of selective discrimination.

The solution

The conundrum Paul has presented requires a few simple steps to reach a solution that won’t happen overnight, but, with persistence, it will eventually occur. First, plumbing contractors must come to the realization that plumbing license laws are not enacted for the protection of plumbing contractors. The plumbers’ motto is “The Plumber Protects the Health of the Nation.” Like the plumbers’ motto, the purpose of plumbing license legislation is the protection and welfare of the public. As Paul sees it, government is not fulfilling its responsibilities.

An old adage says, “If you want a job done right, do it yourself.” Another axiom states, “The squeaky wheel gets the oil,” but, if the squeak is minimal it may not be detected. The “loyal plumbers” of whom Paul speaks would be wise to stop assuming that Paul on his own can succeed in addressing a problem which is theirs individually and in totality.

They should muster up the courage to join with Paul to face the problem head on in a relentless manner. They could then make the squeak annoying enough to be heard. Harry Truman had the words “The Buck Stops Here” on his White House desk. The solution to this problem must come from the spot at which the buck stops. That’s the plumbing contractors themselves.

Those contractors must take it upon themselves to initiate an educational program showing consumers the benefits of using only licensed professional plumbers. They should create a simple informational brochure for the public about the dangers of improper plumbing. Each contractor could distribute those brochures when speaking to consumers. To further support that information, they should include the following quote from Dr. Lewis Thomas, former head of New York’s Sloan Kettering Cancer Research Center and an author of numerous articles and books explaining the glories of medicine to the lay person. In the 1984 spring edition of the foreign policy journal Foreign Matters, he wrote:

“There is no question that our health has improved spectacularly in the past century. One thing seems certain: It did not happen because of medicine, or medical science or even the presence of doctors. Much of the credit should go to the plumbers and sanitary engineers of the Western world. The contamination of drinking water by human feces was at one time the single greatest cause of human disease and death. It remains so, along with starvation and malaria, for the Third World. Typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery were the chief threats to survival in the early years of the 19th century in New York City, and when the plumbers and sanitary engineers had done their work in the construction of our cities, these diseases began to vanish. Today, cholera is unheard of in this country, but it would surely reappear if we went back to the old fashioned ways of finding water to drink.”

That brochure would open the eyes of intelligent consumers as well as shine a light on the responsibilities government employees have regarding the protection of the health of the community in which they are supposed to serve.

Contractors could then set their sights on the newspeople that turned a deaf ear to Paul’s grievances. Although newspapers are not responsible for policing plumbing license laws unless it is mandated by legislation, they are responsible for bringing in advertising dollars so that they can exist. Unified plumbing contractors could take out ads in those newspapers. You can bet your bottom dollar that the newspapers won’t turn away from a paid advertisement concerning the protection of the public’s health.
The next step for the unified plumbers would be to gather as many people as they can to legally demonstrate at their state capitol for the protection of the health of the communities involved. By calling the TV news ahead of time, they could possibly be seen on the evening TV news, further enlightening the consumer.

They must persevere and increase the noise of the squeaky wheel as needed until politicians are forced to address the situation and consumers are made aware of the severity of the potential danger they could face by using people who have not been trained in good plumbing principles.

The problems contractors encounter are caused or exacerbated by their actions or lack thereof. It’s up to Paul and his fellow contractors (and you and your colleagues in your geographic area) to unify and take the bull by the horns. If politicians don’t listen, the contractors should vote them out of office. Plumbers should support politicians who will truly serve and protect the health of their community.
Thanks for your email, Paul. I hope I have helped you with my ideas. Keep me informed on your progress. You have brought to light a problem that other contractors across the nation face.

To all contractors, whenever you have a contracting business problem, email it to me at richardditoma@verizon.net. I will attempt to incorporate it into a future article in hopes of solving the problem for you, as well as for the industry. For those who want information on my business coaching assistance, books or price guides, give me a call at 845/639-5050. I wish all of you good health and much wealth.

Richard P. DiToma is a contracting business consultant and active PHC contractor with over 40 years of experience in the PHC industry.